


Cherub

by NAOA



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Misunderstandings, Trust, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:27:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26808874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NAOA/pseuds/NAOA
Summary: Angel gets hit by a spell and is turned into a six year old, as everyone struggles to find a way to fix him the situation get's more complicated as Spike get's deagged too.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally started this in 2015 or '16 and am reposting it here. I never finished it but I'm hoping that maybe someday I will. Please enjoy, there are thirteen chapters written. Thanks for reading.

Los Angeles was the second largest city in the United States according to population charts but the supernatural community remained as ever rather close knit and so word traveled quickly. Even in a city as large as Los Angeles it wasn't too terribly hard to find someone. Not if you really looked. And for Angel, who had so many enemies that could be a real problem.

He thought about that as he was hit in the chest by a spell. He thought about it only briefly as the witch he had cheated so many centuries ago laughed and he went down, his entire world turning dark.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" Cordelia muttered, wringing her hands. The witch had been taken care of. Gunn and Wesley had seen to that. That wasn't the problem. She was looking at her boss who before her very eyes had shrunk to the size of a small child. "Oooh my God!"

"What ever is the matter?" Wesley asked, looking up from the witch at his feet. She wasn't a real witch. She was something more demonic. He could tell that from all of his watcher training. "Cordelia. . ." He stepped forward and frowned, squinting at the place Angel had once stood. "My God. . ."

The figure, which was ten times smaller than it should have been was tangled up inside of Angel's coat and wasn't moving. Tentatively Cordelia crouched and reached out to touch it, feeling a solid form meet her hand. In a flash she pulled the fabric back and let out a surprised noise. A dark haired little boy was sleeping inside of Angel's clothes. He seemed perfectly untroubled by the dead demon witch beside him or the weapons Gunn and Wesley were holding. In fact he was fast asleep in quite oblivious to the world around him.

"Angel?" She called out in a quiet voice, looking up at Wesley for help. He shook his head, looking baffled. She shook the child a little but he didn't wake and only turned on his side, facing away from her.

She bit her lip. "I think that's Angel. He was normal one minute and now he's shrunk. More than shrunk, he's a kid now!"

"No way!" Gunn said, hurrying over to take a look at the kid. He couldn't help but grin. In all of the weird stuff he had seen this wasn't exactly the strangest but still. . . "We can get him back right?"

"O-of course." Wesley stammered, still shocked. "Cordelia, do you think you can carry him? We have to get back to the hotel."

She bent and scooped up the boy who couldn't have been more than five or six yet still wasn't exactly easy to carry. "Here, let me get him." Gunn said, still grinning a little. They made an awkward exchange with the boy who remained fast asleep, chin now resting on Gunn's shoulder.

With that out of the way they hurried as quickly as they could back to the hotel where Gunn quickly deposited the boy on a couch, leaving him covered in the now oversized coat.

"Well this is just fantastic." Wesley bemoaned.

Cordelia hovered over Angel, watching him closely. "I hope he wakes up." She said. He was still sleeping, for all intents and purposes completely at peace.

"I hope he knows who he is." Wesley added. "It's bad enough that he's been turned into a child it'll be even worse if he can't remember anything."

Cordelia was only half listening, she had crouched down next to the boy and was touching his hand. "I. . . I think he's human! He's got a pulse."

Wesley looked up, surprised. "Human? He could be in danger then." He glanced around the hotel as though he expected something to leap out of the walls at them which to be honest was a possibility.

"I'll call Willow and see if she can fix this." She said, straightening up and heading towards the phone.

"Yes yes, do that." Wesley hurried over and began examining the boy who did not wake and simply stretched himself out to a more comfortable position. The child did look a bit like Angel. He frowned as he watched him sleep. "What kind of spell would not only turn him into a child but also a human again?" He wondered.

Kneeling down he reached out and felt the boy's wrist, checking the pulse. Cordelia had been right. Strong and alive. behind him Fred shuffled closer. "What happened?" She asked, looking at the little boy curiously.

"The demon cast a spell on him." Wesley said.

She frowned. "On who? The kid?"

"On Angel." He motioned towards the sleeping figure. "That's Angel."

Looking awed she stepped closer. "He's so little!" She said in disbelief.

"Yes and human."

She bent and then drew away. "Can we fix him?"

"Cordelia is calling Willow as we speak. She might be able to. I'll ask Lorne."

A moment later Cordelia returned, hands on her hips. "Willow says she'll come and try but she isn't sure what to do."

"Oh man, this is crazy." Gunn said, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean what are we supposed to do until he's back to normal? Baby sit? What if something attacks us here?"

"I have thought of that." Wesley said. "Perhaps we could ask Willow to take him back to Sunnydale."

"Oh yeah, the Hellmouth is much safer." Cordelia muttered.

"Safer than here. Angel has enemies and they know he's in L.A. if word got out they might try and attack him here."

"We should get him in his room." Fred said, still peering at the boy curiously. "He'll be more comfortable there."

"Good idea." Cordelia said, marching forward and picking the boy up. He was heavier than she thought and it was a little awkward but she managed to carry him up the stairs and to his room. Fed followed jumpily, craning her neck to see Angel's face every now and then.

"Maybe we should get him some clothes too." She said excitedly.

Cordelia deposited the boy on the bed and nodded. "You're right." Fred grinned, knowing she would enjoy shopping.

"H-he's pretty cute." She said, trying to suppress a smile.

They both stopped to looked down at the boy who remained completely out of it, covers drawn up to his chin.

"I'll go pick some stuff up for him tomorrow morning." Cordelia said "What do you think? Buy black and broody from the children's department?"

Fred giggled. "I don't know if that'll be too easy to find."

"You're right. I'll find him something though."

They tip toed out and rejoined the others in the lobby, hurrying down the stairs.

Wesley looked up as soon as he saw them. "He didn't wake up did he?"

"No." Fed chirped.

He nodded and they all stood for a moment before he clapped his hands. "Well anyway, I'm sure we'll have him put back in no time. Until then we should try and act normally."

"Normal?" Gunn snorted. "We live in a hotel and fight demons. I don't think there's a lot of normal here."

Wesley sagged before nodding.

"Relax." Cordelia said. "Tomorrow morning I'm going to go buy him some clothes and then Willow will come and fix everything. Piece of cake."

They nodded and Fed raised her hand slightly. "Um. . . what do we tell him when he wakes up? He's gonna want to know where he is a-and where his parents are."

"Yes, I have no idea." Wesley said, leaning against a column.

"We can say it's a day care or something. Or a sleep away camp." Cordelia offered.

"Not a lot of those in eighteenth century Ireland." He said.

She frowned. "At least I came up with a suggestion."

"Do you think he'd believe it if we said we were relatives?" Fred asked.

"I don't think he's gonna buy that." Gunn said, grinning a little.

She gave a small smile. "True. . ."

They remained silent a few moments before Gunn snapped his fingers. "Family friends." He glanced at the others doubtful faces and shrugged. "It's better than sleep away camp."

Cordelia rolled her eyes but shrugged in agreement. "Alright. Family friends then."


	2. Chapter 2

Angel awoke late the next morning feeling off. He opened his eyes to a dark room and after a second realized he was not in his bed. He sat up quickly and looked around. Nothing around him looked familiar and when he looked down at his clothes he found them changed as well.

Slightly panicked he pushed back the covers and climbed out of bed, standing uncertainly on the worn carpet. He chewed his lip for a moment before padding barefootted over to the door and and stepping out into the hallway. Wherever he was it was very big and after another moment's hesitation he began wandering down the hall, trying doors occasionally as he did so. Most of them lead to empty bedrooms but some of them were locked and he wondered what kind of place would need so many bedrooms. He guessed maybe some kind of an inn. A giant inn. probably the biggest in the world.

Eventually he hit a dead end and turned back, retracing his steps until he found another hallway going in a different direction. Feeling a little worried he tried this one but it looked almost identical and after a few more turns he began to feel quite lost. He stopped and tried a door but found just another empty room. Frustrated and a little panicked he tried to go back the way he'd come but quickly realized he had no idea how to do so. He thought that if he could just find the room he'd woken up in he would at least be able to stay there until someone came to find him but he couldn't seem to be able to. He had no idea where he was or even what part of this mystery building he was in. Everything looked the same and he just couldn't find his way back.

Eventually he gave up and sat down against a wall resting his head on top of his knees. He had no idea how he'd gotten to this new place. The last thing he could remember was getting into bed at home. He'd forgotten to say his prayers and he wondered briefly if this was some kind of divine punishment but he forgot lots of times and nothing ever happened then. No, this had to be something else. Maybe his parents had had to make a midnight trip and they had just grabbed him without waking him. Maybe it was some kind of adventure. He doubted that though. His parents didn't have adventures.

Sighing he looked back down the hall. He was going to be in trouble when he was found. He shouldn't have wandered off. Frowning he took a deep breath and got up again, determined to find his way back. He set off back the way he'd come and suddenly realized that the doors all had numbers on them. He wished he'd noticed before. Still. . . he did his best and at one point was sure he recognized a crack in the wall but lost hope when he saw an identical crack a few steps further.

Eventually he came out at the top of a large staircase. This wasn't what he had been looking for but he had to stop and look around because everything looked very grand. He slowly began making his way down the stairs, head turning from side to side. He was so caught up that the sound of a voice caused him to jump.

"Okay so I got a little carried away but it's not like I was shopping for me and I got food too because all anyone has around here are a few eggs and some blood." Angel wrinkled his nose at this, not quite sure what that meant. Eggs and blood? Oh well, maybe he had heard wrong. The lady talking had a strange accent. He listened more closely, peering around the corner at a motley group. The woman speaking was holding several bags up and another woman was looking through them curiously.

"Oh this is cute!" The other woman said happily, looking at something in the bag. Angel leaned further around the corner trying to see. He didn't recognize any of these people and wondered if his family was in some other room. Just then one of the men in the room noticed him.

"He's awake!" Gunn said, directing the other's attention towards the stairs. Angel froze looking like a deer in head lights.

"Hey." Cordelia called, waving to him.

He took a step back but immidiately the people in the room began to head towards him, moving together. "Angel. . ." A man said. He had dark hair and wore glasses. He was English. "Do you recognize any of us?"

He shook his head. not understanding why the man was calling him an angel.

"Not at all?"

He shook his head again, very much afraid.

"Alright, alright." Wesley said, sensing the boy's fear. My name's Wesley, this is Cordelia, Fred and Gunn. We're not going to hurt you."

"I'm Liam." He said in a small voice.

Wesley smiled. "Nice to meet you. I believe Cordelia has something for you."

Curiously Angel turned to look at her and she smiled. "I got you some clothes. You wanna go get dressed?"

He looked in the bag and then back up at her, letting his eyes drift over all of their faces. "Where am I? He asked.

"Oh yes, that. We're friends of your family. You're going to be staying with us for a while."

He frowned, no one had told him anything about this. "Why?" He asked.

"W-well. . . think of it like a vacation."

He looked at him doubtfully. "Are my parents here?"

"No, I'm afraid they left already." Wesley said, giving him as kind a look as he could.

Angel paused, it was all very strange. What if he had been kidnapped? Did the English Kidnap Irish children? His friend Tommy Flannigan might know. He knew lots of scary stories. The idea made him doubt these people and he took a step backwards, clumsily climbing the stairs behind him.

Below Gunn and Wesley exchanged worried looks. Things were not going as planned. Angel was scared of them and their apparent lie seemed to only make things worse. But what could they do? They couldn't tell him the truth.

"Angel. . . Liam," Cordelia said as kindly as she could, stepping forward. "Don't be scared, we won't hurt you."

"I wanna go home." He said, sounding whinier than he would have liked. he didn't sound brave at all. She gave him a sad smile. "Okay, but why don't you go and get dressed first? It's almost noon and you don't want to run around in a shirt all day, do you?"

He looked down at himself and chewed his lip. "I. . ."

"I got you some clothes." She held up the bag witha smile and waved it. "We can get you something to eat after you get dressed."

He paused. He was rather hungry. He slowly nodded and she hurried up the steps to join him, glancing over her shoulder as she went. Behind them Wesley and Gunn looked intensley relieved.

"Come on, I'll take you back to your room." She said, putting a guiding hand on his back. He quickened his pace and pulled away from her, giving her a distrustful look. She frowned a little and hoped he would loosen up.

When they reached his room he tried quickly to memorize the numbers on the door but she ushered him in before he had the chance. She set the bags on the bed and began rifling through them. "Alright, I know there's something in here for you to wear. Lets see, how do you like the color green?" She turned around grinning widely and held up a shirt. He eyed it, not feeling particularly strongly about the color one way or the other. Still, her smile was very big and he nodded, not wanting to disappoint her or get in trouble.

She smiled even bigger and laid out the rest of his clothes. "Call for me when you're done." She said, stepping outside the door

Once he was sure she was gone he curiously looked through the rest of the bags. They were all clothes although he thought they were a little strange. Shrugging it off he quickly dressed, struggling a little to figure out how to do up his pants but eventually getting it and then waling towards the door. He opened it and looked up at her expectantly.

She smiled widely. "I knew you would look great."

This prompted him to smile a little and she beamed even wider. "Alright, lets go get you some food." She said, grabbing his hand and leading the way again. "Did you sleep alright? You were out like a log last night."

He nodded, thinking that he liked her. She seemed very nice.

"Alright, eggs and toast okay?"

He nodded again and she set him up in a chair in the lobby and went to find Fred and Gunn who had taken over cooking. From his spot in the office Wesley watched Angel look around the lobby and smiled a little as he saw the boy check under his seat. It was a very childish motion and strange knowing that this was Angel.

Whatever he was looking for he did not find and contented himself to sit and swing his feet until the others returned with a breakfast tray.

"Bon Apetite." Cordelia said, giving the boy another of her wining smiles. He dug in and began eating quickly, still looking around him between bites. The others watched him for a moment, standing around rather awkwardly.

"Is it good?" Fed asked hopefully.

He swallowed and nodded. "Thank you." He said. He had a strong accent as a child and it made Gunn snort a little.

The boy looked up at him, not sure if he was being made fun of or not. He gave Gunn a wary look, deciding that if he was going to be made fun of he wouldn't be nice to the man.

"I made it." Fred said, grinning nervously. "I'm glad it's good."

They stood awkwardly for a moment and Angel began to feel a little uncomfortable. He felt like he was being put under inspection and it made him distinctly ill at ease. He finished eating and set the plate aside. Fred took it and held it tightly for a moment before Gunn tapped her on the shoulder to remind her that she should wash it. She gave him another smile before bouncing off, Gunn in tow.

"Feel beter?" Cordelia asked.

He nodded. "Ma'am, where am I?"

She groaned inwardly, she ha hoped the question wouldn't come up again. "Um. . . well this is a hotel. . ." She waved her hand around but when his face crumpled in confusion she tried again. "An inn. We run it and we're going to have fun here." He looked doubtful and she tried again. "Lots of fun. This place is huge, you can play all kind of games here. Tag, hide and go seek. I can get you some toys." He looked agreeable to that and she made a note to stop by a toy store as soon as possible. "Why don't I show you around?"

He nodded and she lead the way back up the stairs. "This is Fred's room she spends a lot of time in here so she's always easy to find. "Um. . . you know that's yours. . ."

"Which one's yours?" He asked.

"I don't live here."

"Oh." He looked a little disappointed and she couldn't help but feel a tad bit flattered. "But I can stay the night if you want." He perked up at that. So far he knew her the best and she seemed to really like him. She kept complementing him and had even promised to buy him toys.

"I got lost when I woke up." He admitted, hoping he wasn't going to get into any trouble for wandering around.

She smiled. "Well it's good you found your way back to us." They made their way around the hotel and eventually out into the court yard. Angel walked to the gate and peered out at the street. Hundreds of huge multi colored. . . he didn't know what they were zoomed past. He turned to look at her, stunned.

"What are those?!" He cried.

She faltered. "Oh. . . they're like. . . wagons." She smiled at her own cleverness but he only continued to look stunned and confused. She tried again. "Without horses. They're mechanical."

He looked out the gates again, straining to see. Whatever they were the longer he looked the more he realized that there were people inside of them. Maybe she was right. Some kind of machine. "Can I ride in one?" He asked.

She paused. "Sure. Not right now but maybe later." After that she watched him play around the court yard for a while. Laughing as he walked around the fountain and dipped his toes in it. Suddenly he stopped, coming to stand on the edge of the fountain. "How come that man called me an angel earlier?" He asked. He didn't mind but it wasn't something he was called a whole lot. Sometimes old ladies said he looked like a little angel but that was about it.

Cordelia frowned. "Um. . . I think he meant it like a nick name."

"Oh." He stood for a minute. "I've never had a nick name before."

She laughed. "Well, I guess you do now."

He nodded with a thoughtful look and returned to playing.

She sighed, glad she had been able to derail another problem. Still, she hoped Willow would get there soon because she didn't know how many more of these questions she had answers for.


	3. Chapter 3

A phone call later that evening told them Willow would not be making it until the following morning and more than that she said she had no idea how to fix the situation and might need to take Angel with her.

Cordelia was not pleased with the idea and for that matter neither were any of the others. "Hey we already told him a crappy lie about being family friends." Gunn said. "We send him off to some place else he's gonna think we kidnapped him or something."

"I don't like the idea either." Wesley said, watching Angel eat a ham sandwich from across the room. So far the boy had shown plenty of energy but remained fairly quiet, only popping the occasional odd question to Cordelia. Questions he was full of. Where in Ireland were they? What day was is? Where had Fred gone? Near Dublin. It was the only city she knew. Wednesday.Fred Went to put put the bread away. He was intensely curious about everything and it was a little overwhelming.

At the same time she thought he might be holding back. He sometimes would open his mouth and then shut it, other times he would teeter like he wanted to ask a question but was stopping himself. She found it a little odd but at the same time didn't push it. She didn't have all the answers and the sooner they could get him back to normal the better.

They spent the rest of the day taking turns occupying him. Wesley had said that he shouldn't be alone in the hotel and the others had agreed. There were too many ways he could get lost or hurt and there was still the threat that something could attack.

For the most part Angel behaved. He wasn't particularly wild or loud and that was a plus, they set him up in the lobby with paper and crayons which seemed to delight him and kept him out of trouble. Occasionally one of them would run by to check on him but for now Wesley was pouring over spell books and Gunn had gone to see Lorne.

Despite Fred's best efforts, Angel seemed prefer Cordelia. He was fairly warm to Fred but out of all of them he went out of his way to get Cordelia's attention, showing her his drawings and asking her questions. "That's really good." Cordelia said, taking Angel's drawing of a horse. It was decent by six year old standards and she smiled.

"You really like it?" He asked.

She smiled. "Of course. Do you like horses?"

"Mmhm and drawing. Father says it's a wast of time though." He looked at his picture for a moment, frowning.

She watched the way his face fell and patted his shoulder. He looked surprised at this. "It's not a wast of time. Lots of people draw."

He nodded and after a second's consideration gave her a shy smile. "You can keep it, if you want it."

She smiled brightly. "I'll hang it up in my room. You know I loved horses as a little girl."

He smiled at her. "My favorite is named Ciaran."

"You have horses?" She asked interestedly.

He nodded seriously. "A couple."

"I'm jealous." She said.

He smiled, looking very pleased with himself. "I can draw you Ciaran, that's just a horse."

"I'd love to see him." She said.

Looking quite happy to be given the task he returned to drawing, face screwed up in concentration.

"What's he making?" Fred asked, leaning over an arm chair.

"He's drawing me his horse." Cordelia said.

Fred smiled her skittish smile. "That's neat. What's his name?"

"Ciaran." Angel said without looking up. "You can have this one since I gave Miss Cordelia the other one."

Fred smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners and took the first drawing to look at it more closely. "I- I can't wait!" She said.

They watched him draw for a moment before Gunn came hurriedly back in. "I talked to Lorne and he gave me a spell."

"Did he say for sure it would work?" Wesley asked, coming into the room.

"He said it would probably work. . ."

From across the room Angel had gone very still. "what do you mean a spell?" He asked quietly, his voice a little high pitched.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Wesley assured him.

The boy looked worried and Fred tried to distract him. "That's a really pretty horse." She said, giggling a little. He reluctantly returned his attention to his paper, studying it before handing it to her.

She smiled and Cordelia gave the two men a furious look. They back away into the office to discuss further magic.

"Are they gonna put a spell on me?" Angel asked as soon as they were gone.

Cordelia and Fred exchanged looks. That was the general idea. "No, no. Angel he was joking. They don't know how to do magic."

"But-"

"No magic, promise." Fred said, trying to sound convincing.

He looked troubled but he dropped it.

That night they ate Chinese take out. It was odd to have Angel eat with them, he usually stuck to blood and then preferred to do so in private. The boy however after some prompting was eating his rice rather messily and seemed to be enjoying it.

"Liam," Cordelia said, getting his attention. "Tomorrow a lady's gonna come. She's a friend of mine and she's gonna play with you a bit."

He swallowed and looked up. "What's her name?"

"Willow. She's really nice so no matter what we have to be nice to her." In truth she was worried how me might react if he thought magic was involved.

He chewed another bite thoughtfully. "I'll be good." He said.

She smiled widely. "I believe it."

This if anything made him smile brightly. Another unusual happening for the grown up Angel and she wished she had a camera. It occurred to her that there would be no pictures anywhere of Angel as a child. It was a strange thought but he was simply too old. She made a note to grab one if she got the chance.

They talked for a little more, Angel staying mostly silent and the others fining talk a little difficult when it didn't involve vampires and demons. Because what else were you supposed to talk about when your life revolved around the supernatural?

Angel for his part was feeling much more relaxed. He liked Cordelia immensly. She was kind and pretty and so nice to him. All she seemed to do was give him complements and praise which he found a little odd but not unwelcome. His family did not tend towards over praise. He liked Fred too, she was a little odd but very nice and he was even warming up to Welsey and Gunn, the latter of whom no longer laughed when he spoke.

Truth be told he had not known what to make of Gunn when he'd first seen him, he'd been unsure of the man's position, servant or slave but he appeared to be neither so a free man he guessed. Either way he seemed like a nice person. At least he wasn't grinning every time he spoke like he was some kind of joke. Now he was making jokes and making him laugh.

As for Wesley, he was different. So far the man had come across much as he had originally guessed, serious and distant. He was a little intimidating to be honest and he kept shooting him looks as though he was waiting for Angel to do something bad.

After dinner Cordelia let him play in the garden again until the sun was completely gone. It occurred to her that Angel had spent the entire day in the sun for the first time in God knew how long. Just free to come and go and run about. She wondered if he would remember anything when he was turned back and she hoped he would.

She watched as he darted about collecting rocks and setting aside the smoothest ones. Whatever game he was playing made sense only to himself. She smiled a little, even of Willow managed to turn him back the next day she was glad she had gotten to see this side of Angel. The idea however that Willow might have to take him back to Sunnydale irked her. A selfish part of her wanted to keep him with her.

She frowned as she thought about it but decided that she wouldn't make a big deal out of it if it happened and if it did she would make sure she was kept up to date. She was good at that and after all, when she wanted someone's attention, it was impossible to ignore her.

After a while of running too and fro Angel began to wined down and she lead him inside. "I think you should take a bath." She said. Truth be told he was a little dirty.

He made a face. "I took one last week."

She made her own face. "Ew, you're definitely taking a bath then."

He made a sour face but did as he was told, letting her set up the tub and run the hot water. "Now," Se said, hands on her hips. "You can take one yourself, right?" He nodded and stood still, waiting for her to leave. "I'll be in the other room, if you need anything let me know." He nodded a second time and she shut the door, leaving him be.

He paused once she was gone and wondered if it was really necessary. He didn't like taking baths and he wondered if she would believe him if he just dunked his head. Still, she had been so nice and she wanted him to do this so he complied, slowly testing the water before getting in. It wasn't that bad, the water was warm and after a bit he began scrubbing at his arms and legs., eventually cheering up to the situation and splashing around. a bit.

From the other room Cordelia could hear him splash and even laugh a few times and smiled. It was so odd to think of dark, brooding Angel splashing in a bath tub. After a while however she decided it had been long enough and rapped on the door, telling him to hurry up. Ten minutes later he was out and dressed in pajamas. To him, it was a little odd to sleep in long pants, no one he knew did so but they were what she had given him so he wouldn't complain. She smiled when she saw him dressed and went and retrieved a comb from the bathroom. "Come here." She said, sitting down on the bed. His hair was not terribly long but still needed some combing. She played with it, making it mirror the adult Angel's preference for sticking it straight up.

He sat still and let her comb it, liking the attention. His mother sometimes played with his baby sister's hair and he liked to as well because it always made her giggle.

"So," Cordelia said, lying down on her stomach beside him in a comical fashion. He copied her, feeling it was the thing to do and they lay there, staring over the end of the bed. It felt a little strange to be back in the room he had woken up in. So many things had happen over the course of the day that he had forgotten his distress of being away from home and in some ways it was an adventure because he had never been away from his parents' house. He cast a side long glance at her and smiled. She smiled back.

"Could you tell me a story?" He asked, hoping that if she did so she would stay a while longer.

She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, thinking hard. "Okay, once there was a knight, a lady knight and she was the best knight in all the land and there was a witch too, a good one except she didn't dress very well and she had no fashion sense and there was a princess. . . no! A queen and the queen told the knight that she had seen a monster hanging around the Bronze which was a castle. . . made of bronze. . . from there she went on to describe how the group had saved the day and how the queen had played no small part in that feat. Afterward she found him mostly asleep and with some quick repositioning got him under the covers.

Before he drifted off, Angel had the brief thought that he liked it here. Everyone was so nice and even though there were a lot of strange things like the carriages without horses and other small things he really liked it.


	4. Chapter 4

Cordelia woke Angel up the next morning, finding him very groggy. He looked at her for a moment before getting out of bed. In truth he had half expected it to all be a dream. It was strange to know that it was not.

He dressed and followed her down to breakfast and then listened to Gunn tell him a story of intense battle which left him very excited. With Angel entertained and Willow on her way Cordelia hung by the doors, wanting to catch her before she came in.

For his part Gunn was rather pleased with how well his story was going over. He had initially thought Angel or Liam as he was making an effort to call him didn't like him. Now however the boy seemed eager for more stories of battling monsters and even begged him for more.

Willow arrived around 10:30 and Cordelia greeted her loudly. "Willow!" She cried cheerfully. "Willow this is Liam, remember, I told you about him?"

Willow smiled slightly, a little overwhelmed by Cordelia's exuberance and turned to look at Angel who was sitting across from Gunn a curious expression on his face. "Wha, hi Liam. How are you?" She asked, grinning.

He cocked his head slightly. "Fine thank you." His accent made him pronounce it as 'tank you' and she smiled widely.

"Willow's been my friend since school!" Cordelia said, eager to get things going smoothly. "And I called her over for a visit." She left out that she had called her over to do a spell.

He looked at them, curious about the new woman but figured she had little to do with him. "Why don't you come and sit with us?" Cordelia continued. "I think Willow would really like to meet you."

Angel big good bye to Gunn although he would have liked to hear more stories and let Cordelia and Willow guide him over to another set of chairs. Willow set her suitcase aside, and sat looking pleasantly interested with her eyebrows raised. "So how are you?" She asked Cordelia.

"Good, good. How's Sunnydale?"

"Good, mall's still there. I knew you'd wanna know."

Angel listened quietly. For the most part he was content to let the adults talk and anyway, he didn't really know what he could add. After a little while however Willow opened her suitcase and handed him a chocolate bar. "Here." She said with a lop sided grin. "I brought you this!"

He took it and looked at it, slightly surprised. He had only had chocolate once before when a merchant had come through town and he had gotten a small taste After unwrapping the candy he found it much sweeter than he remembered.

With Angel preoccupied Willow leaned in to whisper to Cordelia. "I soaked the candy in a potion. It should cure him." She grinned at her own cleverness.

They watched as he ate the chocolate bar rather quickly, licking his fingers when he was done. "Thank you!" He said, feeling much warmer towards Willow. She smiled widely as at the second 'tank you'.

"Do you want another?" She asked, digging in her bag. "I've got lots."

"Willow. . ." Cordelia said through clenched teeth. "Do you think he should eat so many of those?"

"Oh it's okay I only fixed the first one." She handed over a few more to an excited Angel who thanked her profusely.

They watched him eat for a few moments before Willow frowned. "I-it should be working now. Hey, Liam? Do you feel any different?"

The boy shook his head, looking up from his second candy bar. "What do you mean?"

She caught herself. "Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if the candy tasted alright."

He nodded and tucked the other two into his pocket.

Willow sighed and shrugged for Cordelia to see. "Guess it didn't work." She whispered.

The two glanced at Angel who was swinging his feet looking around a little distractedly. "Why don't you go and play?" Cordelia said, giving him leave. He hopped up and went to go explore, feeling more confident about not getting lost. After all now he knew where he was.

They watched him wander off and waited until he was out of ear shot to continue. "We have another spell you can try only keep the magic talk on the down low, he's kinda jumpy about it."

"Okay, where is it? Oh and I brought an over night bag but I kind of need to be back in Sunnydale tomorrow."

Cordelia hurried off to the office and retrieved the spell they'd gotten from Lorne. "Think you can do it?" She asked, handing it over.

Willow read it over curiously. "Hmm. . . maybe I mean, it looks simple enough. I'm gonna need a few ingredients though. Uh. . . can you guys get me some. . ."

"Gunn picked everything up yesterday." Cordelia interrupted. "It's all in the office."

"Okay then. I'll get started. "

For the next hour Angel explored and Cordelia hovered while Willow prepared to cast the spell. "Okay," She said finally. "He just needs to be in the room when I cast it. It's a pretty simple magic reversal spell, it only took me so long because the translation was wonky."

"I'll go get him!" Cordelia said, dashing off. She found Angel in the basement and called him up. "Liam, come here a sec."

He hurried up the stairs and and they stepped into the lobby. As they did so Cordelia noticed Willow muttering under her breath. "Actually. . ." She said, trying to think of something to justify keeping him in the room. "We wanna know what you want for lunch you know, just so we have an idea."

He gave her a blank look and shrugged while Willow continued to chant quietly. "Anything's fine." He said, confused but delighted that they asked his opinion. It made him feel rather grown up.

"Okay, well we just thought we'd ask. . . " She cast another glance at Willow and continued. "Um, so did you find anything interesting yet?"

He shrugged. "Not really."

"Okay well just have then go have fun and stay within ear shot for lunch. It'll be about an hour."

He nodded and paused to fish another candy bar out of his pocket. In that time Willow stopped chanting and sat frowning, looking defeated.

Once he was gone again Cordelia turned to her. "Frick!"

"I know." Willow slumped. "I thought for sure that would work."

From the office Wesley stepped forward. "Both spells failed?" He asked, looking surprised. "That's very unusual. I wonder if the witch was using magic from another dimension. Giles might have something on it. Perhaps Angel should go Sunnydale with Willow."

"I think Buffy would be fine with that. I'll call her."

"I'll ask Lorne if he can figure out what kind of demon the witch was." Gunn said, following Wesley out of the office.

Cordelia sighed. She liked having baby Angel around. "He's not going to like this."

"Well maybe he'll like Buffy."

"Yeah like there's any possibility of that not happening. I just don't think he'll like leaving here."

Willow grinned. "Is he shy?"

"Not really, mostly he's just like an other kid but we had to lie to get him to stop worrying about how he got here."

"I'm sure we can think of something. Tell me all about him, what's he like?"

"Well. . . he's kind of quiet. I mean he runs around and plays but he's sweet and more open than usual grumpy angel."

"His accent's pretty cute though."

"Yeah." Cordelia paused for a moment, remembering Doyle before going on. "He's pretty well behaved so you guys shouldn't have too much trouble."

"Well that's good. I mean he doesn't seem like he's a hand full or anything."

When lunch rolled around they called him back and Cordelia tentatively explained that he would be leaving with Willow the next morning. Angel did not look happy but didn't argue. Instead he slumped in his seat and wondered if he had done something wrong. He couldn't think what. No one had gotten mad at him for anything or seemed mad at him so what could he have done? Then it occurred to him. "What abut my parents?" He asked. He had the sudden fear that this was some large plan to get rid of him. Maybe he ad been kidnapped all along or maybe even worse his parents had wanted to get rid of him.

"They know." Cordelia said quickly.

He looked at her with rather bright eyes but quickly stopped himself from getting upset. He didn't understand. he thought he had but now. . .

After that he only picked at his food. He wasn't hungry and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong. A million scenarios went through his head, each more improbable than the last but to a little boy, all seemed reasonable. Still, he couldn't think badly of Cordelia and the others. They had all been so nice. Fred was sitting next to him, asking if he wanted more to eat and she seemed so nice. He just didn't know what to think.

That evening he went to bed with only a half hearted good night to the others. He had a plan. He would have to escape. If he tried hard enough he was sure he could make it home.


	5. Chapter 5

Once he was sure everyone was in bed he slipped out and dressed again before creeping silently out the door and down the hall. He made it safely to the front door and stopped, feeling a little worried. He had no real idea where he was or how to get home. Cordelia had said they were near Dublin but Dublin was all the way on the other side of the country. Still, he couldn't stay. Something was wrong and even though he thought he liked everyone it was beginning to worry him.

He quickly slipped out the doors, through the garden and out the front gates. The rush of traffic blared before him, faster and more hurried than anything he had ever seen before. He took a step back and gripped the gate, suddenly very afraid. Cordelia had said these things were like horseless carriages but they went so fast and were so terribly loud. He crept along the side walk, mindful of the traffic and began looking around him. He had never been to Dublin but he had heard stories yet this was just so much more. Everything was huge and busy and even though it was night no one seemed to sleep. He stopped when he reached a corner and looked back. He could see the hotel in the distance and suddenly felt very small. He had always wanted to see the city but this was just too much.

He stood on the corner for a long moment, wringing his hands. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to cry but didn't. Being hysterical wouldn't solve anything. He bit his lip and stepped away from the street. He didn't know what to do.

He had made up his mind to turn back when a voice called out to him. "You lost kid?"

He wheeled around wide eyed and saw a man standing a few feet away. "N-no." He stammered.

The man took a few steps towards him. "What're you doing out here at night then?" He asked, grinning slightly. He did not seem necessarily threatening but still. . . he had been warned that cities were dangerous places.

He stepped away from the man but was forced to stop lest he step into the street. He paused before looking back at the hotel. The man followed his gaze and then frowned slightly. "You shouldn't be out here alone. Are your parents around?"

Angel shook his head. "I want to go home." He mumbled.

"Alright, alright, where do you live?"

He gave the name of his village.

"I don't quite know where that is." The man said, still grinning. "Are you from somewhere? England? Are you here on vacation?"

Despite his misery hel had just enough of a level head to be indignant about being asked if he was English. Still, this man seemed nice and helpful so he didn't say anything. "County Galway." He mumbled.

"This is L.A. County. I don't really know where that is either."

Feeling quite hopeless he hung his head. The man for his part seemed to find this amusing. "Why don't you come with me?" He offered. "We can find a policeman."

Grateful for the help he followed the man down the street and away from the hotel. If they could find someone important he was sure he would be able to get home. He followed the man for a few minutes before the man turned down an alley. Unwittingly he followed along, surprised when the man stopped suddenly. A second later the man was pinning him to the wall, arms holding him up with unnatural strength.

Shocked he felt his mouth fall open and a weak scream escape his lips. The man's face was contorting into a grotesque parody of it's former self.

"I watched you come form the hotel," The monster snarled, tightening his grip. "You're gonna be a message to that vampire traitor: he can get the hell out of L.A." With that the monster opened it's mouth and Liam closed his eyes, bracing himself. This was it. He was going to die!

A second later a voice called out to them. "Drop the kid!"

He opened his eyes just as the monster threw him aside. It was Gunn and he was holding a giant ax. Grateful he scampered out of the way as the vampire flew at Gunn, swinging widely.

"I knew there was somethin' sneaking around." Gunn muttered. A second later his eyes found Liam's face and shot wide. He obviously had not realized who he was. A look of anger flashed across his face and Angel wondered if he was in trouble but immediately realized the anger was directed towards the vampire.

He crawled behind a dumpster and hid as Gunn battled the thing. He could hear them yelling and fighting and it scared him. He put his hands over his ears and burred his head in his knees. Fortunately it was over soon a moment later the vampire exploded into dust and Gunn knelt next to the dumpster, trying to coax the boy out.

"What are you doin' out here?" He asked.

Liam shook his head. "I- I. . ." He was stunned by what he had seen. Sure he believed there were monsters but it was another thing all together to see one. He couldn't believe it and that Gunn had killed it.

Realizing the boy was scared Gunn tried to come across as less threatening. "Hey, he's not coming back." It was a little surreal. The boy was scared of something he would one day become. But he didn't know that and there was no reason for him too. He grinned a little. "It's okay but we gotta go back to the hotel."

Slowly Liam extracted himself from behind the dumpster and allowed himself to be lead back to the hotel. Gunn kept glancing around as though he expected another monster to leap out but none came and a moment later they were safely back inside the building.

"What were you doing out there?" He asked, once they were back in the lobby.

Liam shrank back., afraid now to answer lest he wind up in trouble. "I wanted to go home." He finally said, hanging his head.

Gunn frowned. "I bet but you're not gonna get there sneaking out like that."

"Everything looks too different." He said. "I don't understand any of it and. . . and. . ." He didn't want to add that he was beginning to doubt them. That he wasn't sure he believed they knew his parents. He looked up at Gunn with tearful eyes and swallowed hard. "Do you really know my parents?" He asked. Gunn hesitated and when he did Angel tried again. "What are their names?" He looked so miserable that telling another lie seemed down right impossible.

Knowing the others would not be pleased he sighed heavily. "Alright, I'm gonna tell you the truth but before I do I just wanna make clear: We didn't kidnap you."

Liam nodded and followed him over to a seat. "You're not in Ireland and your parents didn't send you here. Honestly, I don't even know what their names are. This is the future and you got a spell put on you and it turned you into a kid and now you're here with us. But we're gonna find a way to fix it."

The boy's eyes went wide as the words hit him. He had a spell on him? Did a witch cast it? How old was he supposed to be? His head filled with thoughts and worries and he looked panicked. Instantly Gunn worried that it had been too much. "Hey," he continued. "It'll be okay. I promise. We can fix it."

A second later he regretted everything when Liam burst into tears. "Look, we got lots of cool stuff in the future though." He said, trying to distract him. "It'll be okay." Look, I'm gonna go get somethin' to show you." He hurried into the office and looked around. There had to be something he could use to distract the kid. He snatched up a flashlight, a set of keys and a Walkman, pausing briefly to look at the tape inside. Judging by the taste, it was Cordelia's. He hurried back and found the boy much as he had left him, sitting and crying softly and shaking.

"Hey, hey hey." He said, kneeling down. "Look what I got. Bet you don't have these at home!" He handed over the flash light and showed him how to click on the button. It seemed to work because a moment later the boy sniffed and tried his luck with the button. The light flashed on and then off again and he looked down the lenses at the bulb.

"Is it magic?" He asked in a small voice, sniffing again.

"No see it's. . ." Honestly he wasn't sure how to explain it. "See it's electric. There's a battery in here and. . ." He stopped, everything he was saying was going over the boy's head. "Um it's a contraption." He said dully.

This seemed to make sense to Angel because he nodded wisely, clicking the button a few more times. There were tear tracks on his face but his eyes were now focused. He frowned and shook it, hearing the batteries rattle. He could find nothing particularly magical about it and he began to think Gunn might be right.

Gun for his part sighed in relief. Liam was starting to become sufficiently distracted and he seized on the opportunity to throw him the keys. "These are cool too, right?"

Setting the flash light aside Liam picked up the keys and after another sniff frowned up at him. "We have keys." He said sounding a little indignant.

Gunn winced a little at that. Keys had been dumb but he had been desperate. After a few more clicks of the flash light he handed over the Walkman and showed him how to listen to the earbud. Angel paused for a moment before jumping in surprise. After that it was a very poorly explained summary of how a cassette tape worked which eventually seemed to satisfy. Afterward they sat still, Angel occasionally clicking the flash light and shining it on things. He seemed worn down now and a little defeated.

"You okay?" Gunn asked, relieved that the kid had stopped crying.

"Yes. . ."

"Alright but you can't go outside like that. It's not safe."

Angel nodded, still clutching the flash light. With that Gunn softened a little. "I mean it though. The city is dangerous and not just because of monsters like that. There's bad people out there too. People who hurt kids. You gotta be more careful."

Angel nodded again, this time looking more tired. He sighed after a minute and looked down at the flash light. "Can I keep this?" He asked.

Gunn shrugged. "Sure, it's yours. Now you wanna go on up to bed? It's pretty late."

He watched as the boy hurried off, still clutching the flash light. They had been lucky that night. Lucky that he had known something was skulking around the hotel, lucky he had been going out on patrol at that time. Damn lucky. And it was lucky to that things had worked out so well. That no one had gotten hurt and they'd made it back and even more that he had been able to explain everything so easily. There were questions he hadn't answered and honestly he wasn't sure how to answer them but still, the crying had been done and things would be easier to explain now. He was glad of that. There would probably be more tears along the way but for now he had done his part and he had done it well.

The next morning Gunn told the others what had happened and was met with varying degrees of panic. "Oh my God!" Gordelia shrieked. "Is he okay?"

"Oh yeah he's fine. A little scratched up but he'll be fine."

"I can't believe he would wander off like that." Wesley said, rubbing his jaw.

"I told you he'd think we kidnapped him." Gunn said a little aggressively.

"B-but he's okay with being in the future. I mean the present, right?" Willow asked.

Fred looked her way and then at Gunn looking worried.

"As far as I could tell." He said, waving a hand.

"I guess this makes driving him to Sunnydale a lot easier." Willow added.

Cordelia nodded, arms folded. She knew it had to happen. They had exhausted most of their ideas in L.A. But maybe Giles and Willow would have some remedy for the situation.

At 11:30 Cordelia made sure Liam was packed and ready to go but stopped there, hovering and wanting to keep him with her. She had grown fond of him in the few days he'd been a child and was now sad to see him leave. Wesley and Fred had to practically pry her hands off of him.

For his part, Angel was very sad to leave. He liked Cordelia and everyone else, despite the previous night's escape attempt. Wesley had explained to him that they'd only lied because they hadn't wanted to scare him and even though he wasn't entirely sure that made it okay he had decided it didn't matter. He eventually hugged her and Fred and Gunn goodbye and gave Wesley an awkward hands shake when the man seemed to feel hugging his boss, even in child form to be a little too weird.

After that Willow set him up in the back seat and asked if he wanted some lunch before they headed out. He nodded without really listening. He was craning his head to catch a last glimpse of the hotel. Once it was out of sight he began looking around. The traffic and city looked much less scary in the day time and from an inside view he guessed that cars weren't so scary. In fact they were smoother than a carriage or cart. Willow talked a lot the whole way. She told him about the town he was going to and the people there. She said he would be staying with her friend Buffy and from the sound of her he thought he would like this Buffy person.

They stopped at McDonald's before getting on the highway. It was an easy way to get Angel food and a toy. Cordelia had wanted to buy him some but hadn't gotten around to it. They had made a call to Buffy to get something before leaving. Hopefully she would have everything ready.


	6. Chapter 6

They arrived in Sunnydale by late afternoon and stopped in front of Buffy's house. After several hours in the car Liam's head was spinning with everything Willow had told him. He knew now that he was in America and that somewhere along the way there had been a war and America was no longer colonies and they had beaten England. She had explained all about cars and television and many other things and he thought he had a pretty good grasp of things.

When they pulled up in front of Buffy's house the sun was just setting and he was suddenly filled with a sense of dread. He had been told many things about this girl and although she sounded amazing and strong he was suddenly very afraid that she wouldn't like him.

Willow helped him out of the car and grabbed the bags carrying his clothes before noticing his hesitation. "Don't worry." She said with a slight smile. "She can't wait to meet you."

They hurried up to the front door and were about to knock when it sprang open. Willow grinned as Buffy searched quickly for the boy. "OhmiGod." She said weakly, standing still.

Angel for his part drew back, feeling worried.

"Buffy, this is Liam." Willow said, still grinning. "Liam, Buffy."

He waved a little and her eyes widened. "Wow. I wish I had a camera."

He wracked his brains trying to remember what a camera was and was so caught up in it he almost tripped as he was ushered in. "I set everything up for the night." Buffy was saying. She was a pretty blonde girl and seemed very excited to meet him.

"So Liam," She said, smiling at him. "How was L.A.? I used to live there you know."

He shrugged, not really sure what to say about it. He had only spent a few days there and during that time had almost been eaten, found out he had a curse on him and spent most of his time worried he had been kidnapped.

She laughed easily. "I want you to meet my mom."

He followed her into the kitchen and looked around inquisitively. A nice looking lady was standing by the stove cooking. "Oh he's here!" She said, looking surprised. "Willow, are you joining us for dinner?"

Willow nodded, grinning.

Buffy laughed. "Mom this is Liam."

The woman gave him a long look. "I think I like him better this way." She whispered.

Buffy snorted and Liam wondered what she had said. "Mom!"

"I'm just saying!"

As it turned out he was greatful that Willow was staying for diner. He was still a little nervous and a large part of him missed Cordelia. The others talked and laughed but despite this he found himself missing home. This place was very strange and everything seemed so foreign that there was no comfort in it.

At dinner he was introduced to Buffy's younger sister, a girl named Dawn. She wasn't too close to his age and she kept giving him curious looks but he thought she was alright.

"So Liam, Buffy told me you're from Ireland. I've heard it's beautiful there." Joyce said.

He was a little startled to have the conversation directed his way but nodded just the same. "It can be."

"I'd love to visit there."

"You should then. Although I do not really know how far away it is from here."

Buffy smiled into her food. He was cute like this and she filed away the childish way he held his fork and ate for later.

"Maybe Mr. Giles has been there. He's from England. Have you met him yet?"

He shook his head. "No, but I met Wesley."

She paused, looking slightly confused. "He's in L.A." Buffy said quickly. She laughed a little as Liam licked his lips and stretched his neck to look at the bowel of spaghetti at the center of the table. He had never had anything like it before and he liked it immensely. Willow helped him to another serving and he thanked her delightedly.

After a moment's chewing he looked up. "May I ask a question?" He asked.

Resisting to point out that he just had Buffy nodded. "Gunn said I was turned little. Am I supposed to be an adult?"

Willow glanced at Buffy. "Yeah." She said.

He nodded as though he had guessed it. "What am I like?" He asked.

"Well. . ." Buffy said, picking her words carefully. "You're good looking." He smiled at that and waited for more. "You read a lot."

"I can not read yet." He said, looking downtrodden. At least now he knew for sure that he would be able to.

"You can be kind of moody." Willow said. "But in a good way."

"Yeah," Buffy said quickly.

"They all fought monsters. Do I?"

"Oh yeah, you've helped me before too. Right now you do it in L.A."

He nodded sagely and they smiled a bit. Finding out he was some kind of monster killing hero was not so bad. "Are we friends?" He asked.

Buffy nodded, feeling just the faintest of blushes creep onto her cheeks. Willow however was nodding happily. Dawn was smirking a little and failing to hide it. He didn't quite understand but from Willow's face he guessed it wasn't because of anything bad.

They finished dinner talking about various things he liked to do and the different ways he had helped them. Some of the stories were slightly altered and there was no mention of him being a vampire but that was for the best. Finding out he had a curse on him was one thing but telling him he was a monster was another.

When supper was finished Buffy took him into the living room and Willow followed. "We should get him some toys." Willow said. "All he's got is a plastic dragon from a fast food meal."

"Okay, let's go shopping tomorrow." Buffy said, leading them all to the couch. Liam sat still for a minute before climbing up too look over the back and out the window. "What do you like to play with?" Buffy asked him.

He looked at her. "Tops. . . balls" He said distractedly. There was a man standing outside on the street. He was standing still and blowing wisps of white smoke into the air. He thought the man might be smoking a pipe but whatever he was using was far too small to be a pipe. Curiously he leaned towards the glass and squinted. "There's a man out there." He said.

"What?" Buffy asked, turning to peer over her shoulder. Immediately she groaned. "Not again." She got up an hurried out the door, leaving Willow and Liam alone. They watched curiously as she ran up to the figure and they started to argue.

"Spike get out of here." She groaned.

Ignoring her he continued to squinted into the house. "You got a kid in there. Who's the veal?"

"He's not veal and it's none of your business." She snapped. "Now get lost before you give my tree cancer."

He paused for a moment, still gawking at the boy in the window. "Didn't know we were picking up urchins. I'd have grabbed a few myself." He grinned, apparently pleased with his joke.

She rolled her eyes. "Would you just leave? I have a guest. Go away." She gave him a small push. "Get."

"Alright! Alright! I'm going. I was just asking a question."

She waited until he was a good ways down the street before returning to the house. Her mother and Dawn had joined them in the living room and she found them entertaining Liam who was looking at a travel book on Ireland and apparently pointing out places he had never been to which seemed to be everything. "I've heard of this." He said pointing at a picture. "But I have never been there." He said, studying the picture with interest.

"Well it's just beautiful." Joyce said, smiling.

He nodded and they talked for a while more before he began to get sleepy and Buffy offered to take him up to bed. "Come on," She said. "You need a bath."

"Do I have to?" He asked, sounding a little reluctant.

She smiled slightly. "I think so."

He gave it some thought and nodded. "Alright."

She set up the tub and put the soap within reach for him. For a minute she wondered if he needed someone to stay with him but he waited until she was gone to undress and she figured he was fine. With the door closed she hurried to put his clothes away in her closet and make sure everything was set. She wondered vaguely if he might like to have one of her stuffed animals and she stopped to pick one, finding a brown bear in her closet and taking it to his room. She tried for a moment to remember if the bear had a name but she didn't think it had. Maybe he could name it.

She hurried back to the hall and waited for him to get finished in the bathroom. He finished a few minutes later and came out with his pajama shirt on backwards. She grinned slightly. "Let me help you with that." He reached out and pulled the shirt up and around, fixing it. He plucked at it looking slghtly surprised. "Come on, mom made up the couch for you."

She lead him back downstairs and found Joyce and Dawn finishing making up the couch. "Sorry we don't have another bed for you." She said.

He shrugged and climbed up onto the couch, running his hands over the blankets she had laid out and then nodding in approval.

"I-I can read you a story if you want." Joyce offered, wanting to help more.

He shrugged, always up for a story. "Please." He said.

Buffy grabbed up the bear and sat down on the end of the couch. "Hey I didn't know if you'd want it but I got this for you."

He took it and looked it over curiously. "What is it?"

"It's a bear." She said. "A Teddy bear."

His eyes light up with excitement. "I've heard of bears but I've never seen one! Do they look like this?"

She laughed a little. "Well. . . not quite. I'll show you a picture of one tomorrow. Do you want this one?"

He nodded, squeezing the bear's arms. "Thank you!"

"You're gonna have to give him a name." Willow said excitedly.

He studied the bear, tugging a little on the ears and poking the nose. "She said his name was Teddy."

"Teddy is it?" Buffy said, brushing a hand over his head. "Sounds about right."

"I'm sure I've got some books somewhere you'd like." Joyce said.

He looked at her, a little surprised at the offer. Every one was being so nice to him and it was a little overwhelming. They all seemed to know him and know about him and he knew nothing about them. Still. . . they were nice and he was enjoying his time with them.

"Ooh, I've got Harry Potter!" Dawn said excitedly. "I'll go get it." She dashed off and hurried back, clutching the first book. "You'll love it! It's about a boy wizard."

He frowned, not sure he would love it.

"A good wizard." Willow said, catching his look of skepticism. "Like Merlin."

He nodded, feeling a little more confident about it. He didn't know a lot about magic but he knew it came from the Devil and that was scary. People who used magic made pacts with the Devil but if everyone said this book was different he would give it a shot.

Joyce sat back and opened the book and Buffy pulled Liam closer to him. He let her, taking a moment before relaxing against her hip.

Joyce opened the book and began to read."Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four Privet Drive were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." He listened quietly and soon after came to the conclusion that he liked this story very much. He decided that Harry was a good character and he liked him immensely and soon after found himself feeling very sleepy.

Once he had drifted off to sleep Buffy arranged him on the couch and pulled a blanket over him. "Good choice Dawn." She said softly.

It was odd for her to see someone she had shared so much with this way. He was so small and innocent looking. She brushed a hand through his hair and watched him sleep. In a way he looked troubled but he didn't move or make any signs of distress and so she let him sleep on. He was cute like this but somehow it felt dirty to see him this way, to see into his past like this. Still. . . she watched his body language mirror some of the things he did as an adult. Even in his sleep it did and she touched his cheek slightly and his mouth twitched, making her smile.

"I'm gonna go." Willow said with a bob of her head. She was smiling slightly. Buffy nodded and turned to her. "Night."

"Night."

Slowly the others filtered out of the room and Buffy was left alone with the boy. She watched him sleep for a moment longer before turning out the light. They would have to get him some toys and things in the morning. She yawned quietly and gave him one last look before heading up the stairs.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning Liam awoke to bright sunlight coming in the window behind him. After an attempt at blocking it out he gave in and sat up. He sat still for a moment before it became clear that he was relatively alone. The others had not woken up yet. He took a moment to look around the room. This place was much smaller than the hotel and more home like. He rubbed his eyes and stretched before getting to his feet and going to investigate. He thought the chance of getting lost here was much slimmer. He crept around to the kitchen and began looking in all the cabinets. He was crouched down and peering at a stick of pans when Buffy found him.

She stopped in the kitchen doorway and watched him peer into different cabinets. He was pretty cute. And she had the sudden thought of how weird it was to think that this was Angel and even more how strange it would have been to have found the adult Angel doing the same thing. That in mind she she grinned a little before clearing her throat. "Find anything?"

He jumped a little, falling backwards. "No!"

"Well grab me a pot and we'll make breakfast."

He hurried to do so, glad he wasn't in trouble and then hovered by her side while she made him some eggs. Once he was settled down and eating she made herself something to eat and came and sat with him. "We're gonna go shopping today but first I want you to meet a friend of mine. He's gonna work on making you grown up again.

"The man from last night?" He asked curiously.

She felt a wave of irritation pass over her, not at all directed towards him. "No. Definitely not." He looked at her with puzzlement but she brushed it off. "Don't worry about him. You're gonna meet my friend Giles. He's much more fun. . . in a Gilesy kind of way. I'm sure you'll like him."

He stared at her blankly, not at all understanding before he shrugged it off and dug into his food. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Joyce and Dawn joined them both looking tired.

"Morning." Joyce said, smiling at Liam. He smiled back rather warmly and Buffy ran a hand through his hair, brushing it behind his ear.

"We're gonna go see Giles today and maybe pick up some toys." She said.

"I can see if we brought any old toys with us in the move." Joyce said.

Buffy laughed. "Mom, I don't think he's going to want a Barbie dream house."

Joyce shrugged. "I just thought I'd look."

They finished breakfast before sending Liam off to get dressed, he hurried off with Dawn to pick out some clothes and Buffy called ahead to tell Giles they would be on their way.

"Do you think Mr. Giles can turn him back?" Her mother asked.

"I don't know mom. I hope so." The worry that they might hit a dead end made her feel a little more subdued. "If not I'm sure he knows someone who could help."

"That's right. Do you need any money for shopping?"

"No thanks, Cordelia sent some."

A few moments later Dawn and Liam returned. Dawn had obviously made some attempt to comb his hair and he had resisted. It now stuck up at odd angles and he was looking rather resentful. Buffy made an effort not to catch her mother's eye.

"Alright." She said. "Let's go meet Giles."

He followed her out and she lead the way, telling him about Giles as they went. Partially she wondered if he was actually listening because he spent most of his time looking around and stopping to watch cars.

When they reached Giles house she had to pull him away from a fire hydrant he had become intensely curious about. "But what's it do?" He asked as she dragged him towards Gile's front steps.

"I'll explain later." She muttered, not at all sure how they worked or how she would explain.

Giles answered the door much faster than normally and Buffy had the suspicion that he had been waiting rather excitedly. "Good Lord." He gasped, seeing Angel. "I-I knew Willow said he was different but. . ."

"Can we come in?" Buffy interrupted, she had a feeling Giles was about to ramble and didn't want to make Liam uncomfortable.

He seemed to realize this. "Oh! Yes, of course."

They stepped in and Giles continued to gawk at Liam. She smiled a little bit to herself because it was weird and it was a shock.

"This is Liam. Liam, Giles."

Liam looked up at Giles and nodded, biting his lip good naturedly. "Nice to meet you." He said.

Giles blinked. "Even his speech has changed. He's got an accent."

Liam blinked curiously. "I have an accent? What do I sound like?"

"Well. . . Irish."

He puzzled. "But I am. You sound like an Englishman."

"Well that's because I am. Buffy do you realize that this is a world view that no one else shares? There are practically no first hand accounts of childhood from the early eighteenth century! Think about what Liam could tell us!"

Buffy glanced at Liam who looked spectacularly confused and had to resist rolling her eyes. "Yeah. . . . well we need grown up Angel back but I'm sure he can tell you lot's too,"

His excitement waned a little but he nodded. "Yes I know. I did some looking last night and I called Wesley in L.A.. He said the spell was cast by a witch demon but he couldn't pin point the type. He said Angel was rather hush about fighting her and wanted to do it himself."

"Sounds personal. Was there anything in the watcher files about. . ." She paused, acutely aware that Liam was still listening. "Liam I want to introduce you to something American kids love. It's called television." He followed her around the couch to the tv. "This is a tv and American kids sit in front of it for hours. It's a tradition." She flicked it on and began searching for cartoons.

"There's little people in there!" He cried out in amazement.

"Yeah. . . but not really. It's a recording, like a bunch of paintings and they move so fast it looks like they're moving."

"They're talking too!" He said, getting as close to the television set as he could and reaching a hand out to touch the glass. He stopped just short and seemed to think the better of it. "Is it magic too?" He asked.

She groaned. "It's. . ."

But he was already watching a cartoon cat chase a cartoon mouse in awe. She turned back to Giles and mimed her relief. "Sorry, I didn't want to freak him out any." He nodded. "I was gonna ask if there was anything in the watcher files about Angel getting into it with a witch?"

"Well. . . several actually and demon witches. Angelus was not particularly popular, even within the supernatural community. It appears he was deemed rather unpleasant."

She raised her eyebrows slightly. "Hard to believe. Do you think one of them could be the one who cursed him?"

"Most likely but then again it could be one we've never heard about. Not every detail of his life has been accounted for. He uh. . . ate a Watcher who was chronicling him around 18000."

She frowned and made a face. "Yikes."

"If the spell they used on him in L.A. didn't work then it's likely we're dealing with magic from another dimension. Perhaps even a demon from another dimension."

"Great is there anything else we can do in the mean time?"

"I can try a few aging spells and I have a few magic reversal spells somewhere. What are you going to do with him until then?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, keep him out of trouble. Cordelia said he almost got killed in L.A.."

"You know there's one person we could ask. He might not know but Spike could be able to tell us something. He might remember the witch in question."

She made a face. "Great. I guess I'll track him down tonight."

"It was only a suggestion."

She crossed her arms and shrugged. "It's the only lead we've got." They both turned to watch Angel or rather Liam laugh from his seat on the floor. He looked just like any kid like that and she found herself a little thrown to be watching him laugh and smile. There was so much pain in the adult she had fallen in love with.

He was lying on his stomach, chin propped up on his arms.

"Rather remarkable." Giles said softly. "This child has no idea how long he will live or the things he will do in life. This is Angel before he was ever even Angel. Certainly before he was Angelus. He's completely removed from time. Removed from who he is now."

She was quiet for a moment. "Do you think he would want to stay like this? He's human and he doesn't have the curse on him. He could grow up and live an entirely different life."

Giles hesitated. "I can't answer that. If anyone Buffy, you know him best."

She didn't respond and continued watching the boy.

Giles glanced at her and had to appreciate that she was so troubled by the situation. She had been privilege to more of Angel's pain than any of the others and it was as he had said, she knew him best. He cast a glance at the boy who did look just like any other boy and thought that just maybe it would be best to let him grow up again. It would have been kindest. In some ways too it would have been the safest option.

"I don't know what he would want." She said softly. "I can only turn him back to find out."

"Probably for the best. It's how things are meant to be,"

"Yeah." They talked for a while more before Liam's program ended and she rounded him up for shopping. "Wanna come along?" She asked.

"Um, no. I think I should get on with my research.."

"Right and thanks." She smiled slightly when Liam came to stand by her. "I appreciate it."

As they left the boy turned and waved. "It was nice meetin' you!" He called.

Rather startled Giles fixed his glassed and waved back, smiling slightly.


	8. Chapter 8

Shopping was more of a trivia game. Liam had a question for everything. What was this, what was that. How did that work? What was that lady doing? Buffy found herself struggling to keep up and keep him interested in the task at hand. She decided from the start that electronic toys were out. Keep things simple and there would be fewer questions. Balls, a few trucks, a plastic Noah's Arc. He liked that one immensely and grew excited about the tiny plastic animals.

She wondered what else he would have liked but when he could offer up no ideas other than knuckle bones she have up and checked out, grabbing a box of crayons on the way out. She considered swinging by the magic shop but worried that someone there might realize who the kid was and so decided against it.

They headed home for lunch and she let him play with his toys in front of the television while he ate. Baby sitting a two hundred year old kid was pretty easy once he had discovered the joys of cartoons.

Liam for his part was feeling very good about everything. He had new toys, and complete freedom to do whatever he wanted. He didn't have any chores or jobs to do and the only thing he was really missing was friends to play with. He liked these people though. Buffy was so nice and her mother was nice and it wasn't like his own mother wasn't nice or anything but his father was so stern all of the time. . .

He paused thinking about it for a moment. This place was so very different from home. The sun seemed constantly to be out and the weather was warm and dry. Even some of the trees looked different. Even more than that the people were different. They spoke differently and dressed differently. It wasnt necessarily bad but it was strange. Still, it was kind of exciting to be in a new place. He had never thought about seeing the Americas before but if this was what they were like then he decided he might want to live there when he got older.

When Buffy called him for lunch he hurried in and met her. He had a lot of warm feelings towards her. She was kind and pretty and he had decided that he liked her very much. He had also decided that he liked her friends. The Englishman and the red haired girl seemed nice enough and he liked her family too. He wondered vaguely where her father was and because he liked her hoped he wasn't dead. Maybe he worked far away doing something exciting.

As they ate Buffy prattled on about different present day things, hoping to strike a conversation and also fill him in on things he might need to know. Liam listened passively and with interest, liking the way she talked and the taste of the food. She had called it Peanut Butter and Jelly and he had never had it before but he liked it.

"I have some other friends who might swing by later." She said, knowing Xander and Anya would eventually stop in. She paused for a minute before smiling. "What are your friends like?"

He made a face as though he was thinking very hard before wiping peanut butter from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "Tommy Flannigan's my best friend and his cousin Seamus too. We're all the same age." He looked sad for a moment. "I gonna start school but Tommy's not. He says that he has to work on the farm. Seamus might though."

She gave him a sad smile and it suddenly dawned on her that she had never heard Angel speak about these boys. Had they fallen out in later life? Made different friends as they grew older? Was it simply too painful? Perhaps it was just too long ago to remember. These boys were long dead and so were their children. Their childrens' children too and that might have been Angel if fate had dealt him differently. She would never have met him and this boy would have grown up and lived an entirely different, entire life. She leaned over and kissed the top of his head, ignoring his surprise and confusion. He didn't have to know all that. They would fix him and everything would be back to normal. He would return to Los Angeles and routine would set.

"What am I like as a grown up?" He asked suddenly, looking up with interest.

She smiled a little, this time with humor. "Well. . . well you're very good looking." She nodded, bobbing her head in comical severity. He giggled and seemed pleased with this. "And you're tall and strong and. . . you read a lot."

He scrunched up his face in consideration. That didn't sound too bad to him. "Am I married?"

She almost laughed out loud. "No! No but there's time for that." All the time in the world. She thought, watching him finish his food. "Come on, we'll go watch some TV."

He followed her into the living room and they sat on the carpet playing with his new toys. She had fished a few puzzles out of the closet and they were working on one when Willow stopped by."

"Ooh puzzles!" She said with a delighted smile. Liam greeted her happily with a wave and she came and sat down with them.

"What's the news Wil?" Buffy asked.

"Not much. I'm kinda stumped but I'm gonna go see Giles later and see what he's got."

"He said Spike might be able to tell us something. Any chance you could watch Liam tonight while I go talk to him? I'd ask mom but she's working late and Dawn's with a friend."

"Sure, no problem. I can take him out for dinner. I bet he's never had a milkshake."

Buffy laughed while Liam gave them curious looks. "It's a good thing." She said, smiling at him.

He gave her another curious look before returning to the puzzle.

"Maybe I can take him to meet Xander." Willow said brightly. "Maybe they'll get along more like this."

Buffy fitted a piece into the puzzle and shrugged, hoping that would be the case. "Have fun."

They finished two more puzzles after that before departing to go their separate ways. Buffy promising to meet up with them after talking to Spike.

Willow took Liam with her to little burger joint, feeling The Bronze was probably not their best option. After ordering they were joined by Xander and Anya who had been waiting anxiously to meet the now child size Angel. Willow greeted them cheerfully. "Hi guys."

"Hey Wil." Xander said, bouncing slightly as he took in the sight of the small boy eating a burger rather sloppily.

Liam looked up curiously.

"Guys this is Liam. Liam, this is Xander and Anya."

"It's nice to meet you." Liam said softly.

Xander grinned slightly because in his entire life he had never thought he'd be seeing a pint sized Angel. "Got yourself shrunk, huh?" He asked with a grin.

"I guess." Liam said, feeling slightly downtrodden. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say.

"Well, we're gonna figure out a way to fix things." Willow said, smiling.

"He's much less brooding like this." Anya said matter of factly. "It's refreshing."

"Well things are different." Willow said, hoping to avert any dangerous conversations that might scare the kid. "And we're having fun so no brooding here."

"I got a toy." Liam said, holing up his fast food toy , hoping to contribute to the conversation.

"Those are very cheep." Anya said. "I'll get you a better one."

Xander laughed and leaned on the table. "That's a pretty cool toy." He said, watching Liam closely. He didn't quite know what he was looking for or in fact what to expect but so far he seemed like a normal little boy. He may not have been a fan of the usual Angel but he could deal with this version.

Pleased that people were going to include him in the conversation Liam demonstrated how the toy worked by pulling a string and making the top fly off and spin. "That's pretty neat." Xander said, giving the toy a try. He handed it back and the three teenagers began talking amongst themselves.

"So where's Buffy?" Xander asked, sliding into a seat.

"She went to talk to Spike and see if he knew anything." Willow said, dipping a french fry in ketchup . "Giles suggested it."

"I'm sure he'll be a lot of help." Xander muttered.

"Spike can be helpful. When Money's involved." Anya said. "Or Buffy. He likes both."

"Are they a couple?" Liam asked curiously.

The others laughed. "That'll be the day." Xander said.

They talked for a while more, Xander and Anya becoming engaged in Liam who proved to be very bright and interested ineverything.

Buffy for her part left the house and the other two a little after sunset, hoping to get her talk with Spike over and done with in time to eat dinner and maybe stake a few vamps before bed. Things did not go as planned.

Spike was as belligerent as ever. She found him slouched in front of his television with a beer. "I guess day drinking isn't really a problem for you guys, is it?" She said sardonically, stepping into the crypt. He looked up, eyes narrowing with curiosity.

"What do you want, Slayer?"

"I need to ask you about something. Did Angel ever make enemies with a witch?"

Spike raised his eyebrows. "Bloody well pissed off every one he ever met, didn't he? There was that witch in Rheims, the one in Heidelberg. . . she was nasty. Ugly too. There was. . ." He paused. "But why'r you asking? The poof's in Los Angeles. Probably thinks the city's named after him or something. Turning it into his private moping grounds last thing I heard."

"I'm asking because he had a run in with a witch there and got cursed."

"So ask him yourself."

She frowned. "I can't."

Spike looked her up and down looking thoroughly confused. "What happened to him?" He asked, sounding more serous but failing to project genuine concern into his voice.

"It's a long story. He got turned into a kid."

This time the humor dropped from Spike's face and he just looked disbelieving. "What do you mean a kid?"

"I mean a kid. He's six years old. Do you remember a witch who would want to turn him into a kid?"

He paused for a long moment. "The one in Heidelberg." He said finally. "I don't think she was human."

Eager to seize the lead she leaped at it. "What happened?"

"Well we were in Heidelberg muckin' about. You know. And Angelus hears about this witch. Everyone says she's supposed to be just beautiful so of course he decides he's gotta find her. Me, I'm having a great time. German beer tastes great, so do Germans. Anyway, he's off looking for her and he finds her and the way I heard it they shag a few times and then he got board and decided to kill her except when he bit her it turned out she'd been stealing kids' youth so she could stay good looking and what not and when he bit her all that magic came pouring out with her blood and she withered up and turned ugly. He started laughing at her and she got mad an she blew up the inn we were staying at. Set it on fire if memory serves. We get out but she starts yelling that she's gonna get him and she's gonna take his looks and and all that. Guess she could only do it to kids and that's why she turned him into one."

"What would have happened if she's managed to take his youth?"

"Well I don't know. I never saw it happen."

She paused, thinking this over. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the television flicker and watched it without really seeing it.

"Hang on! The kid in your house the other day. That was Angel!"

"Yeah."

He grinned smugly. "I knew he'd be a poncy little kid. I could tell."

"You saw him for two seconds!"

"That's all it took."

Ignoring the petulant arguing she returned to a serious tone. "Spike, I had to ask you this because you're the only person who would know but you better not hurt him."

He tapped his head derisively. "Couldn't even though I want to."

"And don't tell anyone else."

"Right."

"I mean it."

"Right. Don't hurt him, don't tell anyone to hurt him. Got it."

She nodded. "Thank you."

He looked a little startled but nodded. "Yeah well. . . I'm sure he's even more annoying as a kid."

She smiled slightly. "He's not."

He nodded and there was an awkward pause before she excused herself and he watched her go, now intensely curious about what was going on.


	9. Chapter 9

She met up with the others at the burger joint and found them all laughing. Xander was giving Liam the full plot of Invasion of the Body Snatchers from memory and seemed to have him convinced that he had created the story himself. The boy was hanging on his every word.

"Well hey Buffy." He said, breaking off mid story.

She smiled. "Oh don't let me interrupt."

"He was tellin' me a story about monsters from the sky!" Liam said excitedly.

"I heard." She sat down next to him and folded her arms."Feel free to continue."

"What did Spike have to say?" Willow asked.

"He was pretty forthcoming actually. I'll swing by Giles's tomorrow and tell him what I found out."

"I got a toy." Liam said, holding up his fast food trinket.

Buffy took it from him and pretended to examine it. "Very neat."

He smiled brightly and took it back, holding it tightly and sat playing, kicking his feet against the booth.

Xander grinned. "I like him better this way."

She ran a hand through Liam's hair. "It has it's perks."

"I don't know, children are a lot of trouble. Vampire children probably more than others." Anya said, although she was now fixing the top back onto Liam's toy for him.

"Well it's a good thing he's human." Buffy said.

"Hmm."

They talked for a while more, letting Liam play before leaving the restaurant. "You ready to go home?" Buffy asked, taking his hand. He nodded and she gave it a squeeze.  
He hurried to keep pace with her, humming off tunedly as he did so. She lead him back to her house where they were eventually greeted by Joyce. "Buffy, I just got home. How was. . . you know?" She mimed staking something and made face.

"No-" Buffy copied the motion. "Just burgers."

"I got a toy!" Liam said, holding his new toy up excitedly.

"You'll have to show me how it works." She said. His eyes widened in excitement and he hurried past her to the couch, waiting expectantly.

"You better get in there." Buffy said with a grin. "I'm gonna run up to my room and change. I'll be back down in a minute."

Joyce squeezed her shoulder and turned to the couch. "You show me your toy and then go get changed."

He nodded seriously and demonstrated the top a few times before hurrying off to put his pajamas on. When he came back she was waiting with the Harry Potter book and had the blankets back on the couch. "Are you ready for bed?" She asked.

He nodded and climbed up next her to to listen. He had had a very good day. He thought that Xander and Anya were very likable. Xander had known some very good stories and as he listened to her read the book he thought that he would have to ask for the ending to the alien story next time he saw the older boy. It was terribly frightening and compelling at the same time.

Eventually however his eyelids drooped and he drifted off, hearing only that Harry Potter had learned he was a wizard and that he would be going to a magical school and that many good things would be coming.

When the boy's head hit her shoulder Joyce set the book aside and readjusted him so that his head was lying on the pillows. She had experienced many strange things since moving to Sunnydale and she took them in stride, not always understanding but always trusting that Buffy knew what was going on. This was just one of those things but it was an odd mix of normal and strange to her because she knew this wasn't how things were supposed to be and she knew that magic had made a man a child but he seemed so ordinary like this. She fixed the blankets over Liam's shoulder and thought of Buffy as a little girl. And Dawn. She thought of her own children and the times she had tucked them in. She would have to spend more time with them she decided. It was the only thing to do.

When she turned away from the sleeping boy she spotted Buffy leaning against the door frame, arms crossed and a slight smile on her face. "You're really good with him Buffy." Joyce said.

"Yeah well, I had a good teacher."

Joyce smiled. "Did you get any closer to turning him back?"

"I got a lead."

"That's great news!"

"Yeah." They paused for a moment. "Thanks for letting him stay here mom."

"I don't mind. It's kind of fun having a kid in the house again. Well a little kid."

They watched Liam shift slightly and swipe a hand across his face before laughing slightly and hurrying up the stairs. Even if it wasn't the Angel she knew and loved it was nice having him around. Buffy sneaked one last look over her shoulder at the boy before heading to bed. It really was nice having him around.

The next morning she left Liam with Dawn and hurried over to Giles's to tell him what she had found out. He was rather troubled by the news. "A demon that steals youth?" He said thoughtfully. "Demons like that can be quite tricky to kill. Are we sure it's actually dead?"

"I can give Cordelia a call but she seemed pretty sure. Do you think you could find out what kind it was?"

"I can do some digging I'm sure we have something on it. I'm rather surprised Spike just told you."

"Yeah well, maybe he was in a good mood."

"Oh that's a pleasant thought. Anything that puts Spike in a good mood is bound to be bad for the rest of us."

"I don't think so. He can't hurt Angel like this."

"Still. Oh well I suppose he would have found out sooner or later anyway. Is Angel adjusting to modern times?"

"Well he likes TV and fast food toys that's about as modern as you can get without joining little leage."

"Oh that's wonderful. Two hundred years old and all he wants to do is watch cartoons."

"Well we wanted him to fit in."

"Well he needn't do it so well."

She laughed. "Well as soon as we turn him back he'll forget how to use a TV. He never liked them much."

"I suppose there's no harm in it. He's getting along with everyone else?"

"Yep."

"I don't suppose he's showing any signs of his old self?"

"No, not that I've seen. I left him with Dawn today. She said they were just going to hang around the house. I'll see if I can't get her to watch him tonight too so I can get a bit of patrolling in. Or you could watch him. That's what you do isn't it? Watcher. Watch things."

"Yes I'm afraid children aren't really our jurisdiction."

"Worth a try."

They talked for a while more, going over papers and old documents before Buffy headed home for lunch.

She found Dawn and Liam having a carpet picnic in front of the tv with toys and childish drawling spread out all over the place. She laughed a little. "You two look like you're having a good time."

"He's been drawling me pictures." Dawn said. "Look, he drew you." She searched for a minute before holding up a picture with a yellow and blue scribble girl on it. Buffy took it and thought that if she squinted she could see herself. His talent at drawling she thought, must have developed over time.

"It's great." She said. "Better than a mirror." He beamed and she was struck my the thought that there were no pictures of him at this age and she made a note to pick up a camera later. Maybe when he was turned back he would even want copies.

"What's on the menu for lunch?" She asked, sitting down next to them.

"We're eating cereal." Dawn said, pointing to an empty bowel.

Buffy cringed a little but figured she didn't really have room to talk and Liam seemed happy enough. "Works for me." They sat talking and playing for a while more. Liam did have some of the traits the adult Angel had. He didn't take criticism well, even in mild forms. He tended to stew and mope when told off and he had a habit of becoming pensive and drawn up after such incidents. As a child however these were very short lived and he could be quickly talked out of them. For the most part however he was having far too good a time to indulge in any moping and as the afternoon wore on and they moved to the back yard and then back to the living room he eventually wore himself out and fell asleep on the couch, freeing Dawn and Buffy up to clean up and relax a little.

"I wish we could keep him like this." Dawn said with a giggle, leaning around the corner to catch a glimpse of the sleeping boy in the next room.

Buffy laughed, setting the cereal bowls in the sink. "Well we might be getting closer to turning him back but we're not quite there yet so you'll get a few more baby sitting opportunities."

They talked for a while more before Dawn took off and Buffy was left to mind the house and the still unconscious child.

He slept like a log, only occasionally turning over in his sleep. When he did finally wake he was groggy and little grumpy and his hair stuck up at odd ends. He sat blinking and rubbed at his eyes before wandering from the couch and finding her in her room. She let him sit on the end of her bed while she folded her laundry. She talked aimlessly, but he seemed to like listening and she occasionally reached over and brushed a hand through his hair.

When he talked he liked to tell stories about himself and his friends. They were rather timeless children's activities. Swimming, playing, running about. He seemed to have a great number that ended with him getting in trouble which made her laugh.

When she heard her mother come home for the evening they headed down stairs to greet her. Liam was in a very good mood as he had been allowed to talk as much as he wanted and even more than that, Buffy had seemed actively interested in what he had to say which was true, she was. She clung on to every sentence, eager to hear all of the things the adult Angel had never told her. It was a window into his life and some of the things even he might not remember. He was over two hundred years old, did he remember swimming with his friends? Did he remember going on walks with Tommy and playing at stick sword fights? He never spoke of these things. Maybe he didn't.

She watched him show her mother some of his drawings and smiled a little. Her mother had never really gotten to know Angel and it was nice to have them interact.

When evening rolled around she left Dawn and her mother to watch Liam and went out for a bit of patrolling, wondering the streets and church yards, looking for stray vampires. She dusted two and stopped off in a corner shop to grab a camera before sweeping back through the park. It was a relatively quiet evening. Two vampires early on and not a lot else. She wondered if there was any point to staying out but opted to finish patrolling before heading home.

A sweep through Spike's cemetery proved only slightly more yielding. The vampire himself was engaged in his own fight with two others.

"Need some help?" She asked, stepping into his line of sight.

"Bloody well might!" He snapped, ducking a punch.

She paused for a moment, assessing the situation and wondering how he had managed to get himself into it before launching into battle.

"Wanna- tell me what's going on?" She asked, dodging a swing mid sentence.

"Owe 'em a bit of money." Spike said, slugging one of the vampires across the face.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Of course." She jammed her stake into vampire chest and a second later he burst into a cloud of dust.

Next to her Spike took a phenomenal blow to the face and stumbled back. She tossed him the stake and he lunged again, this time taking the vampire down and dusting him.

With the two gone they both took a moment to scour the area for any more before relaxing. "You owe them money, Spike?" She asked in disbelief. Well, maybe not disbelief, more like exasperation.

He shrugged and fixed his jacket. "Little bit of gambling here and there. It's not all kittens and puppies."

"Great."

"Yeah well, gotta make a living and I don't see myself working nine to five."

She rolled her eyes. "Stick to money, not kittens."

He shrugged and began to follow her out of the cemetery. "Been doing that. Thinkin' of getting myself a new tv. Soemthin' posh. Maybe with stereo. Been readin' up on surround sound."

"You'll never need to leave your cript." She said dryly.

He shrugged it off and followed her down the street. "So how's baby Angel? Does he cry?"

She turned and gave him an incredulous look. "Really? No! He doesn't cry. He's well behaved and. . . and very sweet."

Spike made a noise of disgust. "Bit of a nance, eh?"

"He's six!"

He made a little movement, jerking his head defiantly. "So?"

"Would you drop it?!"

"I was just curious, you know someone for over a hundred bloody years you've got questions."

"No you don't. You've got insults."

He shrugged and changed tactics. "What's with the camera?"

"It's for Angel. I'm gonna take his picture."

Spike made another face. "Keep him lookin' all cutesy on film?"

"That's the plan."

They walked for a moment. "What are you gonna do if you can't get him back?" He asked, a little more seriously.

She paused, hugging herself. "I don't know. We haven't really been working on that. I don't even have a plan for it."

He looked at her, giving her one of his rarer, more considerate looks. "You could get rid of him, you know?" She shot him a look but he continued. "I don't mean kill him or anything. But he could go live with some nice people somewhere and live out his human fantasy life for real."

She hugged herself more tightly but kept walking. "I guess."

They walked for a little while more, not really speaking. She was thinking about what she would do if they couldn't turn Liam back. She had gone out of her way not to think about it before.

Spike swung his arms and fished for a cigarette. "Personally, I'd be glad to see the end of him. Get him out of my unlife."

"Spike. . ."

He shrugged again and removed the cigarette from his mouth. "Have one of them watchers take him. Get him out of the country. Maybe an outpost in Peru."

"I'm not sending him to Peru."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Just making a suggestion."

They stopped outside her front door and he craned his neck to try and see into the living room. "You got him in there?"

She groaned. "No. Go home."

"Bollocks. He's right there."

The door opened and Liam stood smiling. "You're back!" He said happily.

Spike snorted with laughter. "Oh this is just great!" He laughed. "You had better send me a copy of those pictures."

She grit her teeth and stepped between them. Liam smiled up at her and then looked at Spike. "Who's this?" He asked.

"This is no one." She said quickly. "In fact he's leaving."

Spike was still laughing. "I'd almost forgotten the accent. God I thought I'd never have to hear it again."

Liam's smile vanished and he looked up at Spike in annoyance. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Spike snorted then he glowered down at the boy. "I mean, Peaches when you talk my ear drums want to kill themselves."

Liam's face turned red and Buffy couldn't tell if he was going to yell or cry. Instead he squared his shoulders and made a face. "Well I don't like you either!" He announced. "And. . . and. . . your hair's a stupid colour!"

Spike narrowed his eyes. "Well you've got an over sized forehead."

Liam's eyes widened in offense and he gasped. He had never been picked on by an adult like this but for some reason he was perfectly at ease arguing with this one.

Feeling vindictive Spike leaned down and flicked Liam in his forehead. He didn't cause any actual pain but the intent was enough to send him reeling backwards clutching his head. Liam stood looking shocked and a little confused.

Buffy groaned. Whatever she had expected, this was about it. Liam was angry, Spike had said stupid things. She groaned as the blond vampire skitted backwards and glared at them. "Spike, get out of here." She said cooly, letting Liam cling to her side. He was glaring back and looked furious.

Spike paused for a moment and looked down at his hand, frowning before looking back up. Whatever it was he seemed to get over it and instead turned and left in a huff.

Buffy directed Liam back inside where he put a hand to his forehead and sat frowning. "Did he hurt you?" She asked, annoyed.

He shook his head and continued to pat his forehead with his hand. "It's not over sized." He muttered sourly.

She blinked. That had not been what she was expecting but why not? Of course it was what he was upset about. Angel could be so touchy about how he looked. "It's not, he was just being a jerk."She said gently. "That's what he does."

He looked up at her and nodded. "But Jackie Garvan says I have a big forehead too." He said sadly.

She sighed and brushed a hand over the top of his head. "He's just trying to hurt your feelings. So was Spike. You can't listen to them."

"Am I hansom when I grow up?"

She paused feeling a little unsure of how to answer. "Yeaaah. Really. Really. Really."

He looked very much relieved at this. "I am?"

"You're good looking now."

"But I'm only six so I can't be handsome yet." He said, sounding much more cheerful.

She laughed a little. "Well you're very good looking for a six year old."

He smiled a little and they settled down with Dawn to listen to Joyce read the next Harry Potter chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

Spike hadn't meant to make Buffy mad at him but it had been too easy to make fun of the kid. He had been right there wearing the same grating expressions he could remember seeing on the adult Angel's face and things had just slipped out. And Christ, he hadn't even hurt the kid and the damn chip had acted up. His head still hurt and as he lowered himself into his below crypt lodgings he thought about about the weird feeling that had shot through his fingers when he's flicked the boy.

His hand had felt tingly and warm and whatever it was that had happened he had been feeling distinctly light headed since. At first he had written it off as nothing important, most likely a side effect of the chip but by now he was beginning to feel slightly woozy and as the room began to spin he lay down on his bed, boots and coat still on. Everything felt funny and. . .

William opened his eyes feeling distinctly disoriented. He was a little dizzy and as he sat up he came to realize that he had no idea where he was or what was going on. For one thing, the place he was in looked nothing like his room. The bed he was lying on certainly wasn't his own and the clothes he was wearing were far larger than anything he owned. Panic over took him and after some struggling, he extracted himself from the belt and trousers. They weren't his and he felt a little worried. "Mummy?" He called out, getting to his feet.

There was no answer and he felt a stab of fear. At least there was some light but still. . . it looked as though he was in some kind of cave. He took a few steps from the bed and began looking around, calling out occasionally for his mother and growing increasingly worried when no one answered him.

The final straw came when he found a coffin and a small pile of bones. Feeling terror over take him he ran back to the bed and the pile of clothes and curled up in a corner crying. There were dead people down here! He wanted his mother and he wanted out and he couldn't believe what was happening. The last thing he remembered was taking a nap. He had lain down in his bedroom to rest around noon, his mother encouraged naps and. . . and now he was here in some dark cave full of bones and dead bodies.

He continued crying and hiccuping, drawling his legs closer to his chest. Someone had put him down here. Someone or worse something! He was too old to believe in monsters but what else would live in a hole like this? Or maybe a killer! A cut throat or some other form of madman. Maybe he was being held for ransom! The thought made him cry even harder.

The next day Buffy took Liam to the park and let him run about and play. He seemed to enjoy the sun and fresh air. She wondered how much the adult Angel missed the sun and she hoped when all was said and done and he was back to normal that he would remember these days.

Giles had called her earlier that day and asked her to come over. He had a few questions and after lunch they swung by his house. "Ah, Buffy." He said, greeting them.

"I just had a few questions regarding what Spike said. I know he said they were in Heidelberg and I have a few documents on German witches being sent but I wonder what he would remember about local rumors. Witches like that are often high profile and human populations inevitably hear about them."

"He didn't say much about that. Just the youth stealing part."

"Do you think you could ask him? There are two witches I'm particularly interested in and I was wondering if he could remember the names Hildagonda or Regalinda the Repugnant."

"Yeah, I'll do it tonight. He came over yesterday and got into a fight with Angel."

"A fight? Did he hurt him?"

"No, just made fun of him."

"Oh that's mature."

"Then he flicked him in his face and ran off."

A look of pain crossed Giles face although it was more exasperation than actual pain. "Wonderful. Well if you can get him to behave and answer a few more questions then we might actually have a solid lead."

"Alright. I can do that."

"And he's still getting along alright? He gestured at Liam.

"Yeah, just like any other kid. He learns everything fast and is happier than I've ever seen him."

"I know this must be difficult for you."

"It's not. It's kind of nice. Sometimes I feel a little bad for liking him like this."

Giles gave her a rather sad smile. "You're handling it remarkably well."

"Thanks." They talked for a while more before she headed out, Liam in tow and they met with Willow and the others who were waiting. Tara was with them and after a round of introductions they headed out for supper, picking a dinner and enjoying a rather long meal. Liam seemed to like Tara very much and the two of them got along well, making Willow very happy. Xander finished recounting Invasion of the Body Snatchers then The Blob that Ate Everything. Lilam liked both immensely, never having heard the like before and Xander liked the awe he inspired.

When they finished eating she left Liam with them and headed out for a bit of patrolling and after a while swung by Spike's crypt, half wanting to question him, half wanting to yell at him for the previous night's escapade.

"Spike!" She called out, poking her head into the crypt. The Television was off and all of the lights were out. She groaned, hoping he was not out. She poked her head down the ladder and called out again. "Spike!" She could see lights but couldn't hear anything.

"Spike!" Still no answer and so with a groan she descended the ladder into the cavern. She could hear a faint noise in the distance. "Come on, I can hear you. I've got another question."

No answer and now slightly suspicious she stepped cautiously towards his 'bedroom'. "Spike!" No answer but she could hear a faint noise that sounded like crying. "Spike?" She called out, feeling unsure of the situation. "Spike, where are you."

She searched the bedroom, seeing his clothes and boots by the bed. "What?" A small sound in the corner made her jump and she wheeled around, stake ready but found only a little boy curled up in the corner. He was crying and his eyes were so red she thought he must have been crying for hours. Her blood went cold at the sight and she lowered the stake slightly.

"How did you get down here?" She asked. A million scenarios ran through her mind. All of them said Spike's chip had stopped working. Something had gone wrong and he was back to his old self. "Come here, I'm gonna get you out of here." She said gently. The boy looked up at her, cheeks shiny from crying and hair a mess. "I need to know though, is he still here?" The boy just stared at her. "The man, with the blond hair. Is he still here?"

He shook his head, he had not seen a man or anyone at all since he had woken up.

"What's your name?" She asked.

He looked at her with watery eyes before croaking out: "William."

"Alright William, I'm gonna get you out of here. Can you stand up." He got to his feet, legs shaking. She looked him over, he didn't look hurt but he was wearing nothing except for an over sized t-shirt. What the hell was going on? She got him to walk towards the ladder, guiding him when he shied away from the bones and cobwebs. It took a little work to get him up the ladder, his legs were shaking and he was crying again.

Once they were above ground she ushered him out of the crypt, walking faster when he began crying at the sight of graves. All the while she kept a close watch, praying that no vampires decided to jump out at them. None did and once they were a little way down the street she stopped again.

"William I need to know what your parents' names are."

He sniffed. "I want my mummy." He said in a cracked voice.

"I know, can you tell me her name?"

"Anne. Where am I?"

"You're still in Sunnydale."

He looked up, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "Where?"

She felt her heart sink, this was worse than she had imagined. "Sunnydale. California. Don't you live here?"

He shook his head. "London." He said miserably.

"London? How did you get here?"

A fresh wave of tears began to spill over and he started whimpering. "I-I don't know."

She stopped suddenly. Something wasn't right. It didn't make sense. Spike's chip had been working the night before. She had seen it. There was no reason for it to stop and now this boy. . . She studied him for a moment. He had curly blond hair and big blue eyes and the more she looked at him the more she began to realize that something was familiar about him. He was. . . "Spike?" She asked softly.

He looked at her, expression lost and terrified. "What?"

"Okay, I'm gonna take you to a friend and we're gonna find your parents."

He nodded sulkily and took her hand. She almost made him let go but thought the better of it. His hand was small and warm and felt strange in her's. The whole walk he continued to sniffle and cling to her. She wasn't sure what to make of it. If this was Spike he was nothing like she had expected. She lead him back to Giles's house, hoping he would know what to do. Everything was so surreal.

Giles answered the door in his pajamas. "Buffy, it's very late. What. . ." He broke off as she jostled the boy into his line of view. "Good Lord. . . who is this?"

"I think it's-" She mouthed the word SPIKE.

He opened the door wider. "That's impossible."

She pushed past, dragging the boy along. "I found him down in Spike's crypt. He was all alone and Spike's clothes were on the bed."

Giles folded his arms and looked at the boy who was still holding Buffy's hand tightly and sniffing. "Has he said his name?"

"William." She tried to shake her hand loose but he refused to let go.

"William what?"

She looked down at the boy who looked up, eyes red and puffy. "Pratt." He said softly.

"That is Spike's real name." Giles said, suddenly much more awake. "But I don't understand how he could have gotten cursed."

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess he is though." She glanced down at the boy who was blinking miserably and still gripping her hand. "Can he stay the night? Maybe you can figure it out?"

She glanced at the boy who looked up at him. He had finally stopped crying and was now standing, sawing slightly.

"I suppose he can stay the night." They stood for a moment before Buffy guided the boy over to the couch and set him down, finally forcing him to let go of her hand.

"William, this is Giles." She said gently. "You're gonna stay the night with him. I'll see you in the morning. Okay?" He sniffed again but nodded. "Alright, we'll figure everything out tomorrow. I promise."

She stepped away to speak to Giles. "You said he flicked Angel the other day. Perhaps the curse was transferred when they made contact. Like a virus." Giles said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"He did stop and look at his hand before he ran off." Buffy said. "I didn't think anything of it at the time."

"That complicates things. The spell it's self may be more complex than we originally thought. If it's transferable to other vampires it's an incredibly powerful spell."

"It just means we have to turn them back even faster."

"Perhaps it would be better if we didn't. At least with Spike."

"I don't know. He's got the chip as an adult."

"Yes well, I was thinking of his personality." He smiled slightly as they stepped outside.

She grinned a little. "I'll bring some clothes by tomorrow morning."

He nodded. "I'll go see what I can do about Spike. . . er William."

They parted and Buffy headed home, feeling weighed down by her new found trouble.

Giles for his part was not looking forward to this. He could only imagine the hell the child Spike must have been. However when he stepped back inside he found the boy sitting on the couch crying yet again. "I'll um, go get you some blankets." He said awkwardly.

William took a sharp intake of breath and looked up. "I want my mummy." He said, choking on the words.

Giles hesitated. "I know. I-I understand but she's not here right now. Can I get you anything?"

The boy nodded and wiped his eyes with his shirt. "I"m hungry." He said.

Giles blinked. Of course the child was hungry. he had been down in the crypt for at least the better part of the day. "Of course. I'll warm something up." He set about heating up some oat meal porridge hoping that would be enough. When he was done he motioned for William to sit at his table and the boy did, taking his spoon and eating quickly.

"Is there anything you remember from before you awoke?"

"I was taking a nap." He said, voice creaky from crying. "I don't know anything else. There wasn't a man."

"A man?"

"The lady asked if there was one but there wasn't."

Giles scratched the back of his head, figuring out what Buffy had meant. "Well it's alright now. You're safe here. Why don't you get some sleep?" He motioned towards the couch and William nodded, climbing out of his chair and getting back on the couch. Giles watched him curl up and make himself more comfortable before heading off to his own bed. This was not how he had expected his night to go but if anything made up for it, this version of Spike did not seem to have the attitude problem his adult self possessed and with that thought he drifted off.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning Giles waited anxiously for Buffy to bring by the clothes. In truth he was uncomfortable around the child Spike. Little William, although different was prone to tears and from the very moment he awoke began asking for his mother. So far he had been able to distract him from any new outbursts of crying but that was not easy. Food worked for a while and then television did and then fortunately Buffy's arrival provided a new distraction.

"I got you some clothes." She said, handing William a bag and sending him towards the bathroom. "Sorry I took so long, Liam wanted to come and I had to wait for Willow and Tara to come watch him. Did everything go alright last night?"

Giles fixed his glasses. "Yes, as far as I know. He slept all night.

"This is so weird. I-I mean nothing is ever really normal on the Hellmouth but still. . . kids! Are they just going to turn every Vampire they meet into kids?"

He paused. "Cordelia said Angel. . . Liam had a run in with a Vampire in Los Angeles but he was destroyed before anything could happen to him. It may be that the spell only effects Vampires that share a connection. In this instance Angel and Spike come from the same line of Vampires."

She frowned and leaned against the wall. "Do you think Spike can stay here until we can find something to do with him?"

"For a few days I suppose. So far he's been very well behaved."

A few seconds later Spike stepped out of the bathroom and came to stand in front of them. He looked up at Buffy rather shyly and then spoke. "What's your name?" He asked.

She blinked, surprised that she hadn't given it before and knelt in front of him. "I'm Buffy."

His mouth twitched and she wondered if he was laughing at her name. The thought didn't really bother her and she winked at him.

"William, why don't you go and watch television for a little while. We have to talk about adult things for a little while." She said kindly. He seemed to understand and nodded, returning to the couch.

"He hovers." Giles said, rubbing his temple. "He also cries a lot. And asks for his mother."

"Spike the cry baby." She said with a laugh.

"I have gotten him to talk about other things. A view of nineteenth century London is quite interesting but it always comes back to wanting to go home. I thought I could tell him that I'm his uncle. Perhaps that would calm him down."

"I don't know that didn't work for Cordelia and the others. Angel found out and freaked."

"That's true and eventually the two will meet and I'm sure Liam would end up saying something."

"I guess we have to tell him the truth." She glanced over to the couch where William was now seated, eyes glued to the television. "Alright, let's get it over with." She sighed, walking around to face him. "Hey buddy, we something."

He looked up nervously.

"We gotta tell you why you can't go home." Immediately his eyes went wide and Giles began to pray he wasn't going to burst into tears again. "This is your home. You had a spell put on you by a witch. You're really supposed to be a grown up. She turned you into a little boy."

He stared at her for a long moment before looking to Giles with disbelief. "I don't feel like I have a spell on me." He said softly. "Are you making this up?"

"No. We have another little boy like you. He's supposed to be grown up too."

His eyes seared the room for a moment as though he was looking for an answer. "How come I can't remember being grown up?" He asked softly.

She sighed. "That's the spell."

"Am I gonna turn back?"

"We're gonna try and find a way."

"And Mummy's not here?"

"No."

"Where is she?"

They hesitated before deciding a lie would be best. "She's in London. This is America. You work here."

"I work. . ." He looked terribly confused and again his eyes filled with tears. Giles braced himself for another crying fest. "I want my mummy!" William sniffed.

"I know. I know!" Buffy said quickly, trying to calm him down. "It's okay. You'll see her again."

He stopped crying immediately and look up. "Is she coming?" He asked, hope filling his voice.

Buffy winced. "Well. . . it's a long trip and. . ."

The tears returned and she glanced at Giles who was rubbing his forehead. "You weren't kidding." She hissed.

"Look William, It's a very long trip and she doesn't know if she'll be able to make it by herself but she sent us a letter and asked us to take care of you."

"I want her." He sniffed.

She sighed. "I know. Look, why don't we go for a walk?" She hoped she could distract him at least a little.

"Yes, fresh air would be very good." Giles said quickly. "Why don't we?"

They ushered William out of the house but he remained morose and held Buffy's hand only grudgingly.

They tried talking to him but again nothing seemed to cheer him up and instead he simply hung his head and shuffled his feet. They took him to a park which worked a little, Buffy pushed him on a swing until he got the hang of it and could be left to propel himself. After that she sat with Giles and rana hand through her hair. "He's a little moody." She said carefully.

"Yes well, this actually explains a lot about the grown up Spike."

She snorted slightly. "He is difficult. Even as a child. Wonder if he'll get along with Liam like this."

"It's possible having a play mate could improve his. . . disposition."

She sighed. "I hope they get along."

They let him swing for a while more before Giles headed home to do some research and Buffy took him out for lunch.

William was not feeling better but Buffy was nice and so he tried to be cheerful for her but this was all too much. He wanted to go home and he wanted things to make sense and he wanted his mother. The food was unlike anything he had ever had before. Buffy called it a burger and his meal came with a little toy and so that wasn't too bad but it didn't matter because all he could think about was going home. Nothing made sense. He had woken up in a tomb full of bones and spider and he couldn't get the memory out of his head. It was terrifying. Why had be even been down there? What did he do as an adult? What he down there for. . . because of his job? A terrible idea occurred to him that he was a grave digger and he tried to push it away because that was just too scary.

When they were finished eating he let her lead him back to Giles house. There he lay down on the couch, wanting to take a nap and Buffy thought it best to let him.

She went out to the front step to speak with Giles who admitted to having made no headway. There was simply nothing in his books that explained what had happened.

She crossed her arms and nodded.

"I'll keep looking." He said. "There has to be something."

"Thank you."

That night she returned home to Liam who was very happy to see her. He quickly told her about his day with Willow and Tara and. She smiled and listened while they ate dinner, sliently trying to decide if the two boys would get along. Liam was a bit more energetic and didn't cry nearly as much but then again this was all new to William. She wished he had had a chance to watch Liam interact with other children but there was no time for that now.

Giles had had no real problem with William so far but she knew he wouldn't want the little boy around all of the time. She had made plans to take him for a few hours the next day. Her idea was to introduce the two boys and let them play. If it went well it would be a lot easier to take care of them for a while. If not. . . well, she could only hope the differences their adult selves had didn't stretch back to childhood.


	12. Chapter 12

Liam was eager that night when Buffy told him someone would be coming to play. As much as he liked all of the adults and the attention they gave him he had missed the company of other children. He missed Tommy and Seamus and the others he was used to playing with. Buffy explained that an English boy named William would be coming over the next day and that sounded okay although he did not know what sorts of games English boys played.

The next morning he waited anxiously and when Giles finally arrived with William he sized him up. The boy in questioned was small and looked rather anxious. From his position on the stairs he caught the boy's eye, making the boy look curiously up at him.

Buffy greeted them and then motioned Liam to come down. "This is William. I told you about him. William, this is Liam."

They stood for a moment looking at each other before William held out his hand and Liam shook it. It was very formal and Buffy had to repress a laugh. "Why don't you two go out back and play? Get to know each other."

They did as they were told, each still sizing the the other up. "So are you from London?" Liam asked once they were alone.

"Yes. . . do you live here?"

"I think for now. . ."

"It's all very strange. I recently moved here too."

"From London?"

"Yes but I'm not sure how though."

Liam hung his head mournfully. "I've got a curse on me." He said. "It doesn't hurt but I'm sure it can't be good."

"I'm sorry." William said. "If it makes you feel any better, I do to. I'm supposed to be grown up only I don't remember ever being a grown up."

Liam blinked. "I have the same curse! Did a witch do it to you?"

William nodded. "She got you too?"

Liam nodded tragically. "She must have got us both. Maybe we know each other when we grown."

"I can't remember anything. . . I mean I remember home but I don't remember you. Do you think we're friends?"

"Maybe. We'll have to ask Buffy maybe she knows. She told me about myself when I'm grown. Maybe she knows you too."

William considered this. Learning about what he was like as an adult could be very useful. He hoped he was someone impressive. They set off walking around the yard. "What did Buffy say you were like as an adult?"

Liam smiled slightly. "She said I'm very good looking!" He said proudly.

"Oh I hope I am too! Maybe I'm married! Wouldn't that be funny?"

Liam laughed. "You could have a wife!" He laughed and then stopped suddenly. "I could have a wife!"

This time they both stopped and stood silently, horrified by the idea. "What if we have kids?!" Liam cried.

"What if we're younger than them?!" William said.

"Buffy would have told me!" Liam said, shaking his head seriously. "I don't have children!"

"Do you think she would have told me?"

"Of course but I bet I've got a girl who likes me. Buffy said I was vey good looking."

"Do you think I do?"

"I dunno. Maybe."

"It's all so confusing. I miss my mummy. . ."

Liam glanced at him. He missed his mother too and hearing the other boy say it didn't make him feel better. In truth it annoyed him and he frowned. "Do you want to play something?" He asked, trying to distract himself.

William sniffed and nodded. The sniff was not lost on Liam and he wondered if he was dealing with a cry baby. He contemplated this as he went to fetch a ball but when he returned William was fine and seemed far from tears.

They kicked the ball back and forth for a while and talked a bit. They agreed that this town and place were far different from anything they had ever seen before. Liam considered telling him about the monster from the city but didn't. He didn't know if he would believe him. The memory of the monster flashed through his head and he shivered a little. Whatever it had been was truely terrifying. He kicked the ball a little harder than he meant to and William let out a grunt as the ball hit him in the stomach.

"Ow! Why'd you do that!" He cried.

Liam blinked and shrugged. "Sorry." He muttered, head still filled with the image of the monster. As scared of it as he had been he was curious too.

William rubbed his stomach and sat down. In truth he wasn't a very active child. He didn't particularly like the other children on his street and much preferred to stay in doors with his mother and read or play quietly. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Liam hesitated. "I. . . I was thinking about something."

William looked up curiously. "Like what?"

Again, Liam hesitated. "I've seen a monster. . ." He said quietly.

William's eyes widened. "A bad one?" He asked.

Liam nodded. "It tried to kill me."

"Does it live here?" William asked, thinking about the place he had woken up in. But Liam shook his head.

"I was in a big city. Maybe they live there."

"You think there's more than one?"

The idea wasn't fun but Liam shrugged. "I don't know. . ."

"There are never monsters at home." William said mournfully. "I wish I was home. I mis my mummy. . ."

Liam glanced at him, he sounded on the verge of tears. "You're not gonna cry are you?" He asked, hoping the answer would be no.

William looked up at him from the ground and the tears that were in his eyes disappeared. Instead he looked offended. "No!" He snapped, sniffing. He didn't want to cry in front of anyone. An adult was one thing but not another boy. Boys made fun of you when you cried.

Liam made a face, not believing him. He was beginning to think that William was kind of a baby. He had almost gone to tears twice now and he wasn't sure he was going to like this boy.

"I'm not!" This time he sounded more angry than tearful but Liam didn't believe him.

"I was just askin'." He muttered.

"You're making fun of me. . ." William said grumpily.

"I'm not! You're just getting your feelings hurt over nothing!"

William looked indignant. "I am not!"

"Yes you are and you're getting mad now!"

"I'm not." William had gotten to his feet and was angry. The truth was he cried a lot but he couldn't help it and he did miss his mother very much. "I'm not crying."

Liam made a face, finding William's reaction annoying. "I just said you were mad, not crying!"

William glared at him. "It's just scary. There are monsters here and there were never monsters at home. I just want to go home."

Liam scowled, again being forced to think of his own home and his own mother. "Well you can't. You've got a curse on you."

"You don't have be mean about it."

Liam frowned. "I'm not being mean!" He said loudly.

William wiped his eyes belligerently. "Yes you are! I'm not crying!" He shoved Liam who immediately shoved back. All tears forsaken the two of them began to fight, shoving back and forth and wrestling once they hit the ground..

From inside the house Buffy heard them yelling and rushed to the back door in time to see the two boys knock each other to the ground. "Stop it!" She yelled.

The two boys broke apart and looked up at her from the ground. "What are you doing?!" She cried.

"He started it!" Liam muttered, getting to his feet.  
"I didn't!" William cried.

She closed her eyes and sighed. "Liam, inside stairs. William, outside stairs. Sit."

"But-!" They both tried.

She shook her head. "Nope. Quiet and sit. You can get up in fifteen minutes."

Not knowing what else to do Liam trudged inside and William sat down quickly, not accustomed to being in trouble. Once Liam was inside she looked down at William. "Did you start it?" She asked.

She shook his head. "He was being mean. He was making fun of me."

"Who hit first?"

William shut his mouth and looked down. "I've never hit anyone before. I promise. He just made me mad."

"You can't hit people, even when they're mean." She didn't know what to think. Spike was a child and he obviously wasn't a vampire but maybe he had the same disposition as a child. She thought that but some how it didn't seem the case. He looked miserable now and she was stumped. She didn't want to think Liam had been picking on him. . . and honestly she had no experience diciplining a child before. She didn't know what to do or how to handle the situation and her mother was at work. She couldn't ask her to handle it. She sighed. "Even if he said something really mean you shouldn't hit him."

"I'm sorry." The boy said softly.

She softened. "Alright, I'm gonna go in and talk to Liam. Then I'm gonna make lunch and when that's ready you can get up. Okay?"

He nodded meekly. "Okay."

She sighed and went to find Liam who was sitting on the stairs grumpily. "He said you were being mean." She said.

"I wasn't. He was being a baby and anyway, he hit first."

"Well he felt you were being mean and I've already talked to him about hitting. I think maybe you two should apologize to each other."

"But-!"

"Look, I'm going to go make lunch so you need to stay here. I'll call for you when I'm done."

Buffy returned to the kitchen not at all confident in her ability to handle children. This was turning out a lot more stressful than she had anticipated. Liam by himself was apparently one thing but two kids was more than she could handle. Then again. . . maybe it was just these two kids. She tried to think about what she would do with them for the rest of the day but nothing came to her. In the end she called them both into the kitchen for macaroni.

Both boys approached each other cautiously before taking their bowls into the living room and sitting down on the floor in front of the couch. They ate silently for a while before Liam cleared his throat surreptitiously. "Do you want to watch some cartoons?" He asked carefully.

William, who was sitting next to him glanced over. "Yes." He said quietly.

Liam rose and crawled over to the tv to turn it on. He knew how to do that now and he found a show he had watched earlier and liked. "Have you seen this one?" He asked.

William nodded as the Duck Tales theme played. "Only once. I like the red duck." He said.

"I like him too."

They sat and ate in silence, watching the show peacefully.

From in the kitchen Buffy let out a sigh of relief, she watched them from the doorway and felt her heart lighten. Spike and Angel were behaving.

A while after that she checked on them again but they were still sitting in front of the tv, occasionally making comments on whatever cartoon was being shown. She snapped a picture on her camera.

Willow showed up a little while later and peered interestedly at Spike. "I never imagined he would look so cute." She said, smiling widely.

Buffy looked at little William and couldn't bring herself to deny that he was cute. "He's a hand full but a cute one. He and Liam got in a fight earlier. I don't know what about though. I'm gonna ask him tonight."

"Where's Spike staying?" Willow asked, still watching the boys who were now passing a bowl of popcorn back and forth wordlessly.

"Giles. After today I think it might be best. I don't think the two of them should spend too much time together."

"Too bad. It would have been pretty great if they'd been friends."

Out in the living room Liam and William were staring transfixedly at the television. "Who's that?" William asked, interrupting their concentration as Willow passed to the kitchen.

"That's Willow." Liam said, breaking his eyes away from the screen. "She's Buffy's friend and she's super nice."

"I've only met three people since I got here."

"O've met a bunch but I've been here longer than you. You'll probably meet them too. Xander has really great stories and Anya is really funny. She says strange things."

"What kind?"

Liam shrugged. "A bit hard to explain. She talks about money a lot."

William smiled. "This place is really different."

Liam nodded. "You know, I was thinking. . . we've both got a spell on us and I woke up in a really creepy place. I wonder if the witch had me there."

"Was she there at all?"

"I didn't see her. Buffy asked me if there was a man but I don't see him either. Maybe a wizard cursed us!"

Liam nodded seriously. "You might have found his lair! But if Buffy knows about it then I bet he's been run off. Maybe there's a clue there.

William swallowed. "Do you think we should go back?"

"Yeah, you should look around. Maybe we could find a spell book."

"But it's awfully scary. There were bones on the ground and what if he's still there!"

"He wouldn't be and anyway, even if he was, maybe we could convince him to turn us back!"

William considered this. "I don't know if I want to be a grown up. I don't know anything about me aas an adult. I like who I am now."

Liam paused, he hadn't thought about this. Being grown up again. . . it didn't really mean anything to him. He didn't even really understand it, the idea was too fanciful. In fact, the idea of it hadn't even occurred to him before. He knew Buffy and the others wanted him to be grown again and so far the idea had just seemed natural. William just wanting to be himself and that made him think now. Being grown might change things but he didn't know how. What if it was really different? He sat for a long moment but no clarity came to him. Just the same he wanted to see the place William had told him about."

"You're staying with Mr. Giles, right?" He asked carefully. William nodded. "Alright, then we're going tonight. I'll show up at his place. I think I remember the way. You'll have to help me get to the cemetery."

William didn't think he liked this idea. "Do we have to go at night?"

"Somebody will notice if we leave during the day."

"But it'll be dark. . ."

"Don't be a baby! There'll be two of us."

William continued to frown but then nodded, he had a good point and if he was honest he was kind of curious too.


	13. Chapter 13

Liam waited until everyone had fallen asleep before getting up and getting dressed. He had pretend to fall asleep a lot earlier than normal but no one had seemed to notice. With his eyes closed he had heard Dawn say that he must have been tired from playing and after she and the rest had gone to bed he waited and then crept out, closing the door silently as he did so.

He brought with him the flash light Gunn had given him and headed to Giles's house. Finding his way more easily than he had thought.

William waited up for him. After he had gotten back to Giles's place he had gotten another talking too, feeling it was distinctly unfair and hoping Liam had gotten one as well he pretended to fall asleep and eventually was left alone. He did not get the feeling that Giles was especially mad at him but he never got in trouble at home. He had never really done anything to get in trouble though.

He watched out the front window for Liam and much later than he expected the boy arrived, waving at him from out on the street.

Quiet as a mouse, William slipped out and met him. "Okay. . . are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure." Liam did not sound sure. "Which way?"

William pointed and the two of them began walking. He was not entirely sure he could find the place. He had been very very scared when he had been there, not to mention confused and since then he had only been past once in a car. He remembered the general direction however and lead the way, considering for a short time getting them intentionally lost. He didn't however, curiosity over whelmed him.

When they found the crematory they came to a rather stumping dilemma. He did not remember which tomb was the one he had been in. They all looked the same and were all very creepy.

"What about that one?" Liam asked, pointing at one near them.

William approached the doors and pushed on them but they didn't open. He shook his head. They tried a few more until one finally gave. This one looked like it might have been the right one. For one thing it had a television and he thought, maybe wizards liked tv too.

They looked around the crypt and examined the personal items lying about. An old arm chair, a few magazines. Liam however found a hole in the floor and shown his flash light into it, hand trembling slightly. "Is this it?" He asked.

William nodded. He was pretty sure now. "You go first."

"But you know the way. . ."

He glared at Liam. All his big talk about not being a baby and now he was getting cold feet. "But you've got the light." He whined.

Liam scowled and tried to had him the light. "You take it, anyway you've been there before."

"It was scary and this was your idea."

Liam glowered down into the hole before finally grunting and positioning himself on the ladder. "You better come right down." He said.

William nodded and watched as he disappeared.

A few seconds later he was greeted by the light shining up from the hole. He climbed down shakily, still scared. Once down he hung close to Liam. The other boy was not looking very confident and shown his light in all of the corners. "There are candles here." He said.

Liam shown the light on a table and they were pleased to find a match book too. William light several candles, making things easier.

After that they broke apart and explored the place. Someone or something lived there and whatever it was, it was very messy. "I woke up on the bed." He said, examining it now. It had been very difficult when it had first happened. He had been too scared. He felt a bit better now. He wasn't alone and he at least knew where he was.

"Whatever lives here's got dirty books." Liam said, looking under the bed.

William looked too. "They've got ladies in them!"

Liam drew away as though he was afraid to get caught. "Father Malone said that boys who look at things like that go to hell."

William drew away. "I don't want to go to hell. . . I wasn't looking."

They returned to looking around, both fearing the wrath of God. William found a box hidden in a chest and looked through it. "There are pictures of Buffy." He said, sorting through the photos.

They continued to puzzle.

After a while they gave up. Despite having found an odd assortment of junk that William declared could only have belonged to a some sort of ruffian, there was little in the way of actually evil.

"I guess the wizard doesn't live here." Liam said, sounding stumped.

William for his part was very glad. They made their way but up and out of the crypt and to the cematery just in time to come face to face with three men. Liam let out a cry as he looked at their faces. They were all twisted like the monster he had seen in the city.

William saw them too and let out a wail as the three started laughing.

"Kids meals. . ." One of them jeered.

The two boys backed up against the wall of the crypt. "W-what do you want?" William stuttered.

The vampires laughed and the two boys flinched.

"I get the blond one!" One laughed.

William grabbed Liam's arm. "Liam!"

Liam himself was shaking. "I didn't know they would be here too!"

"Kids meals? Really? How lame is that?" A voice cut in causing all five of them to turn and see Buffy. "I mean: cheezey much? And anyway you kids. . ." She stopped herself, eyes going wide when she recognized them. "Are in so much trouble!"

"Buffy they're monsters!" Liam cried. "Watch out."

"Correction, they're vampires and I'm the Vampire Slayer." She turned to the vampires. "You guys know how this goes right?" One of them ran at her and tried to take a swing but was caught by a stake to the chest. He exploded into dust almost instantly. "Okay. . . maybe not. Anyone need another demo?" She took out the second and advanced on the third. "You two. . ." They pressed themselves against the crypt wall. "What are you doing out here?"

"W-w-we. . ." Liam tried. "We were. . ." Caught now, he didn't know what to say.

Buffy scowled. "It's dangerous out here. You two could have been killed. Those guys would have killed you if I hadn't been here. Do you know how lucky you are?"

William started crying. "I'm sorry! We were just trying to help!"

"I'm sorry too!" Liam said, sniffing. "Don't be mad."

"I am mad. You both snuck out. You could have died. Start walking."

William swiped at his eyes and began to follow her. He glanced at Liam who looked troubled and who's eyes kept darting to Buffy. Liam caught his eye and they shared miserable looks.

Buffy marched them all the way to her house, passing even Giles's. "You two are in so much trouble." She muttered.

"We didn't mean to." William whispered.

"I don't know what you meant to do." She said, still angry. "You could have died."

"I'm sorry."

Once they reached her house she told them to sit on the couch and then called Giles.

He groaned into the phone. "Buffy, it's very late."

"Spike and Angel snuck out." He made a noise. "Don't worry, I got them. I found them right before three vamps did but Giles they went to Spike's crypt. They said they were trying to help."

"Good Lord. . . were either of them hurt?"

"No but they could have died."

"Yes I. . . it's incredible luck that you happened to find them."

"I was just swinging by Spike's cemetery and I heard them yell. I just. . .I can't believe this."

"Well. . . we know what they're like as adults. . . but yes, you're right. This was not acceptable. I'll come and collect Spike, er William."

"It's fine. He can spend the night. I want to talk to both of them anyway."

She hung up the phone and returned to the living room where both boys were sitting looking worried. She felt some of her anger evaporate, glad more than anything that they were alright. She felt a little bad about their looks of worry and tried to show her lessened anger. "Look, you guys scared me. You know you weren't supposed to do that. Please don't do it again."

"I'm sorry." Liam whispered.

She sighed. "I know."

"I'm sorry too." William said.

"I know. . . you're both going to sleep here tonight, in the morning we'll talk."

"How did you know how to kill them?" Liam asked before he could stop himself.

She glanced at him. "It's a long story, its kind of my job though."

"Do you think the monsters can find us here?" He asked.

"Monsters can't come in unless their invited and anyway, like I said, it's my job they're not going to get you on my watch. Nobody is. Now you guys get to sleep and don't worry about the monsters. Worry about no tv tomorrow." Liam made a noise of protest but she ignored it. "That means you too William. I'm telling Giles."

He glanced at Liam and then nodded mournfully.

"Alright guys, get some sleep. It's late."

They did as they were told, taking opposite ends of the couch and splitting blankets. One she was gone Liam cleared his throat. "Are you awake?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think we're gonna be in a lot of trouble tomorrow?"

"I hope not. I don't want her mad at me."

"I don't either. I didn't think we'd get caught."

"Was that one of the monsters you saw before?"

Liam shifted under the blanket. "The very same. They had the same faces as the one before. There must be a lot of them." He shivered. "But she said they can't come in here so we're safe."

"She killed them! She can kill others too so we'll be even safer."

"I've never seen anything like that before! She must be really strong."

"I know, she's amazing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately I never finished this story, every now and then I go back and take a look so I may yet one day but for now this is all I got. I remember I had some issues with figuring out how to proceed with the actual plot but maybe I'll get it one day. For now, thank you so much for reading.


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